Home Intruder Thought He'd Found An Easy Target But This Elderly Couple Fought Back

82-year-old Herbert Parrish refused to stand idly by when a home intruder burst in and attacked his wife. Instead, the Vietnam veteran immediately jumped into action and saved the day!

Criminals often see the elderly as easy prey and turn them into targets for their evil schemes. Sadly, this was certainly the case when a man forced his way into the home of Lois and Herbert Parrish.

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What started as a normal Monday afternoon took a terrifying turn when 79-year-old Lois Parrish answered a knock at the door. Outside the home in South Carolina stood a 61-year-old man.

“I opened the door and he said he was looking for his little white chihuahua and wanted to know if I saw it. I told him, no, I didn’t,” Lois recalled.

As Lois began closing the door, the man pushed it back open and forced his way inside the home. He then began attacking Lois with a knife he'd brought with him.

Lois' husband, 82-year-old Herbert Parrish, was home, too. And he knew if he didn't do something, this day would likely be his and his wife's last.

“I felt, we’re gone. He’s going to kill us and take what he can take. He was not going to go out that door and leave us alive. That’s the way I felt," Herbert explained.

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That's when 82-year-old Herbert Parrish did something the home intruder likely never expected. He fought back!

Vietnam Veteran Jumps Into Action During Home Invasion

Herbert Parrish may be 82, but the Vietnam veteran is still tough as nails. He quickly grabbed a shotgun hanging on a nearby wall and used the handle of it to hit the intruder. He continued beating the attacker until he was sure he and his wife were safe.

“I started hitting him in the head with the barrel and I know I must have hit him at least ten times right in the face, just as hard as I could hit him,” Herbert recalled.

Police and first responders arrived at the scene, taking the home intruder to the hospital, where he later died as a result of his injuries. 

Though Herbert and Lois Parrish would surely never celebrate the loss of life, Herbert knows he did what he had to do in order to save his and his wife's lives. And while the elderly couple was injured during the home invasion, doctors had no doubt they would recover without any trouble.

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Thank God for Herbert's quick thinking and courage. His determination to protect his wife certainly saved the day! 

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h/t & Featured Image Credit:  WACH Fox News

Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!