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Florida Teen Kills Masked Intruder Who Turns Out To Be His Father

"He wanted to scare us first," he said, "then kill us when we were afraid."

A Florida teen will not be charged after he shot and killed a masked intruder who turned out to be his father.

Malachi Heisler, 18, told WFLA that he was at home in St. Petersburg early Tuesday when he woke to cries for help and his name being called.

He said he encountered someone wearing a ski mask pointing a "pistol" at him, so Heisler fired once, hitting the other man in the upper body, investigators told the Tampa Bay Times.

“He pointed it at my mother first, and then when I came out of the room he pointed it at me. So picture in your head, it was a standoff between me and him. He had his pistol and I had my rifle. It doesn’t matter a bullet is a bullet, one shot, you’re dead,” Heisler told WFLA.

He realized it was his father, John Heisler, after the shooting, when he recognized his tattoos.

According to the Pinella County Sheriff’s Office, John Heisler tried to break into the home through a front window, while dressed in full tactical gear.

Heisler grabbed his ex-girlfriend — Malachi's mother — and tried to force her to the ground. Her boyfriend yelled for help and that's when the teen intervened. Malachi's younger sister was also home at the time.

Deputies later confirmed the suspect only had BB guns.

The shooting was a case of justifiable homicide, investigators told WFLA.

Malachi's mother had a restraining order against John Heisler, a convicted felon, after a domestic altercation on April 22.

The teen said that after that run-in, he was always afraid his dad would come back.

"He wanted to scare us first," he said, "then kill us when we were afraid."

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