A home intruder in Colorado sustained injuries and is in custody after trying to break into the home of an armed citizen. Greeley, located in Northern Colorado, is about 50 miles north-northeast of the state capital, Denver.

In a city with high crime rates and a state that just passed strict gun control laws, this type of incident underscores how important it is for everyday folks to own firearms.

The altercation began when the suspect tried to kick in the door of the home.

A Greeley man has been booked into the Weld County jail, accused of shooting into a home he was trying to break into.

The suspect, 26-year-old Guadalupe Balderas, allegedly tried to kick in the door of a house in the 1800 block of Montview Boulevard. A young man and woman were inside, and the 24-year-old man in the house tried to keep him out.

That’s when Balderas allegedly fired several rounds into the house, and the 24-year-old returned fire. The 24-year-old was hit in the right arm. Police say Balderas ran off but eventually showed up at a local hospital, which reported him to police.

In this situation, another good guy with a gun was able to defend his life and that of the young woman from a would-be assailant. In a city like Greeley, there is no mystery as to why one would want to be armed. Just look at the statistics below:

Crime in Greeley research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Greeley over the past eight years using the FBI crime explorer. Based on the most recently available data released October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Greeley:

There were 4,091 total crimes committed in Greeley the last reporting year.

On a rate basis, there were 3,744.3 total crimes per 100K people in Greeley.

The overall crime rate in Greeley is 61.10% above the national average.

Greeley ranks #118 safest out of 149 cities in Colorado.

Greeley ranks #8,779 safest out of 9,869 cities in the United States.

Additionally, one’s chance of becoming a crime victim in the city is one in 29. Over 85 percent of the state’s counties have a lower crime rate than Greeley.

On top of that, Colorado recently passed new laws to curb gun ownership, despite the fact that its cities have high crime rates. The state legislature increased the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21 years and imposed a three-day waiting period for buying guns. It also expanded the requirement for firearm transfer background checks.

The fact that Colorado has high ratings with Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety, two of the most prominent anti-gunner groups in the nation, shows that it isn’t all that easy to be a gun owner in the state.

Still, the individual gun owner in this story was still able to obtain a firearm to defend his life and property. But with gun laws as strict as Colorado’s, there can be little doubt that many of the state’s residents are being left more vulnerable because they are unable to comply with the laws and regulations required to keep and bear arms.

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this article, we asserted that Colorado banned “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines,” and removed liability protections for gun manufacturers. We regret the error, and it has been removed.