OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA — A wife and mom found herself with a tough decision to make one night; let the bad guy have his way or shoot him as he used her husband as a human shield.

She chose to shoot, and both wife and husband agree with her decisions, even though the husband was left paralyzed.

The harrowing ordeal began at approximately 3:30 a.m. on July 24, as Haley Cherms and her husband, David Sidebottom, were asleep in their home with their godson and their two young children, KNVN reported. The couple was awakened by their home security alarm, so Sidebottom scooped their baby up and went out to the living room to see what triggered it.

When Sidebottom went to investigate, an armed man popped out of nowhere and puta gun in his face. His wife was able to witness what was going on, and went undetected by the armed intruder. She took this advantage and ran with it, first securing her children and telling them to keep quiet and stay put no matter what.

Then, she went to get her gun.

While Cherms raced to her bedroom to get her gun out of a safe, the suspect, later identified as 33-year-old Cody Faunce, ordered Sidebottom to hand over his keys. Sidebottom complied with his demands, hoping the armed intruder would take off. “My mind frame was to give him the keys and get him out of the house,” the father told KNVN.

The man didn’t leave, and instead started breaking things inside the home. Cherms told reporters that if