Armed Florida husband confronts felon who allegedly tried to kidnap his wife, followed her home. It ends badly for crook.

A felon who had spent time behind bars for kidnapping and other crimes tried to abduct a Florida woman who was walking her dog in the area of 18th Place East in Bradenton on New Year's Day, WFLA-TV reported, citing the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman managed to run away from the suspect's car and made it to her home — and then warned her husband about what happened, the station said.

'Chalk one up for the good guys!'

Detectives said the husband went outside and confronted the suspect, who behaved “in a threatening manner” toward the couple, WFLA reported.

But when the suspect began approaching, the husband shot the suspect once in the driveway, the station said.

The sheriff’s office told WFLA the entire incident occurred in a matter of minutes.

Deputies responded to the shooting at 12:27 a.m., and the suspect — 36-year-old Nicholas Palomo — died at the scene despite efforts to save him, the station said.

RELATED: Crook forces way into home, stabs resident amid fight. But victim's wife grabs gun, opens fire — and permanently ends threat.

Mugshot of Nicholas Palomo from 2023Image source: Manatee County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office

More from WFLA:

After collecting further evidence in the shooting, investigators determined that Palomo did not know the couple, classifying the shooting as a “random incident.”

Detectives also found that Palomo previously caused a disturbance at a Circle K before the shooting. It is believed he may have been under the influence of narcotics.

An autopsy found Palomo died of a single gunshot to the chest, and toxicology testing is being done to determine what drugs were in his system at the time.

The State Attorney’s Office classified the shooting as self-defense, justifying the homeowner’s actions, the station said.

As you can imagine, commenters under WFLA's Facebook post about the incident gave the husband hearty kudos.

• "Husband of the year!" one commenter declared.
• "I got his next beer," another user promised.
• "Chalk one up for the good guys!" another commenter exclaimed.
• "Hero husband," another user stated.
• "The south don’t play games," another commenter wrote.

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