Firefight between Los Angeles homeowner and intruders caught on camera

LOS ANGELES — Surveillance cameras captured a homeowner opening fire on would-be robbers who tried jumping him as he approached his front door, police said.

The man, holding a drink in his right hand and reaching for keys with his left, approached his front door through an outdoor corridor, footage showed.

That's when a suspect, wearing a ski mask and dressed in black, came up from behind, put a gun into the homeowner's back and demanded money, police said. They briefly tussled, the beverage went flying and the attacker fled just as an accomplice approached, footage showed.

The homeowner whipped out his weapon and squeezed off at least a half-dozen rounds at the retreating attackers, footage showed.

That first suspect also opened fire before jumping into a dark-colored sedan, driven by a third suspect, police said, as the second assailant fled on foot.

The homeowner told NBC Los Angeles that he's licensed to carry a concealed weapon and that he opened fire in defense of his wife and child inside.

“Just to make this clear, for everybody out there, there’s nothing in my house worth dying over, to come and to try and get. I am willing to die for my family and I am willing to kill for my family,” he said. “I will take matters into my own hands, I have and I will continue to do so."

The confrontation unfolded at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday on Plymouth Boulevard, in Los Angeles’ Mid-City neighborhood, according to an LAPD statement.

The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, was not injured and it wasn’t known if any suspects were hit in the gunfire.

No arrests were immediately made.

Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and David K. Li from New York City.