If they’re fortunate, most people won’t ever find themselves in a dangerous situation where they’ll have to make a critical choice in the heat of the moment as to whether to flee or fight for their lives and/or for those of their loved ones.

But a man in Portland, Oregon faced that exact scenario a week ago, and he chose to fight – and won.

According to local news reports, 32-year-old Luke Stolarzyk, a resident of Stephens Creek Crossing apartments, became irritated after he heard neighbor Kenneth Nelson’s dog barking outside during the early morning hours of June 29th.

Stolarzyk, who had been drinking, reportedly left his apartment to confront Nelson, and the two argued outside for a time, with John Dickson – who is said to be a friend of Nelson’s – also joining them at one point.

Per OregonLive, Dickson “ushered Nelson and Nelson’s younger sister back into their apartment and confronted Stolarzyk, who attempted to hit him in the face with his pistol.”

Though the two went their separate ways, the situation was far from over. Apparently, Stolarzyk was so enraged that he snagged an AR-15 from his residence and proceeded to go after Nelson and Dickson again.

Nelson’s only weapon was a stick, according to the paper. Understandably, he began running as Stolarzyk opened fire. Fortunately, he wasn’t hit, but in the meantime, Dickson – with nothing more than a stick – ran up behind Stolarzyk as he was firing the AR-15 at his friend, and the two scuffled before Dickson was able to knock it out of his hands:

Dickson struck Stolarzyk with the stick while Stolarzyk was firing the rifle, according to the documents. The two men struggled for control of the gun, and Dickson was able to knee the rifle out of Stolarzyk’s hands.

He then struck Stolarzyk in the face multiple times until he was unconscious, the documents show.

Dickson passed the gun to a bystander who dismantled the weapon. The men then hogtied Stolarzyk to subdue him until police arrived at the scene.

When all was said and done, 29 rounds were fired in the area, with some hitting parked cars and others hitting apartment buildings. The only person hurt was Stolarzyk, who was “punched him several times” to the point of unconsciousness by the same man who disarmed him.

Because of his injuries, Stolarzyk, who is said to have a history of mental health issues, had to first be transferred to a hospital. Once he was cleared for release, he was charged with “second-degree attempted murder, four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree attempted assault, first-degree attempted assault, and 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person.”

Obviously, in these situations, the best equalizer is to be armed yourself, but Dickson wasn’t, and yet he still charged after the perp and subdued him, no doubt saving many lives in the process including his and that of his friend. That took a massive amount of courage on his part. Not everyone could do what he did. Fortunately, he wasn’t the victim in this scenario but the hero.

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