Chuck de Caro, a former CNN correspondent, and his wife, former Headline News anchor and CNN correspondent Lynne Russell, were involved in a wild gunfight in a Motel 6 in New Mexico. The couple was attacked by a robber, who was in turn killed by de Caro after an brief skirmish.
De Caro and Rusell stopped for the night in a Motel 6 in Albuquerque while travelling down Route 66. The intruder slipped into their room at around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday while De Caro was in the shower and Russell was outside to get something from the car, reports The New York Post.
"I opened the door and he materialized out of nowhere; he was inside," Russell said. "(And) he pushed me into the room and onto the bed and closed the door," she added.
As de Caro came out of the shower, he saw his wife being held at gunpoint. The intruder was demanding money and valuables. Russell stated that she and her husband tried to calm the man down. Still, the man did not relent, according to Breitbart.
"It felt to me he was used to doing this, that whatever happened wouldn't bother him," she recounted.
Russell then told the intruder that she would look in her purse to see what she has. After discreetly putting their two licensed handguns in her purse, she gave the bag to her husband.
The gunman then directed his attention to a briefcase in the room, which they assured the man had nothing of value in it. Undeterred, the man lunged at the briefcase, opening fire at de Caro, reports CNN.
"(He) went around the bed and then opened fire on Chuck. There was a firefight inside the room," Russell stated.
De Caro was hit thrice, twice in the abdomen and once in the leg. He fought back, emptying all the bullets of the first handgun. He then took out the second gun and fired again.
The intruder was fatally shot in the incident. Though he tried to escape, he died in the motel's parking lot.
De Caro was promptly rushed to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his gunshot wounds. He will be recuperating in the hospital for a few days.
"I was determined to save my dream girl's life - even if it cost my own," de Caro said.
The police will not be pressing charges against de Caro over the death of the intruder.
