A “good guy with an AR-15” stepped in when he witnessed a stabbing attack at his apartment

Dave Thomas of Oswego Township, Illinois used his AR-15 to stop a stabbing attack (WGN News screenshot)

As AR-15s are placed under the spotlight once again in a heated national gun debate, one Illinois man is showing that not every owner of the gun has evil intentions.

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Dave Thomas of Oswego Township is legally permitted to conceal carry and is a valid firearm owner. He said his AR-15 was his “weapon of choice for home protection” because it’s “light, it’s maneuverable” and, once trained how on how to use it properly, “it’s not dangerous.”

When he saw a person with a knife attack another in an argument at his apartment building, reports WGN News, he sought to use the tools available to him to intervene.

“I poked my head out the door. There was a pool of blood, blood was everywhere in the hall. There was still a confrontation going on, there were about three or four people involved at this point,” he recalled.

Hoping to prevent further injury and make his point loud and clear, he ran into the house and grabbed his AR-15.

“I grabbed the AR-15 over my handgun — bigger gun, I think a little more of an intimidation factor,” he explained. “Definitely played a part in him actually stopping.”

The suspect ran away from the incident, but was eventually captured by police. The victim was taken to the hospital to be examined.

“I think looking down the barrel of that AR-15, he really stopped and I think he definitely made the right choice at that point,” he added, via WLS.

For Thomas, it was a good day.

“And this is just a perfect example of good guy with an AR-15 stopped a bad guy with a knife,” he said. “And there were no lives taken, so all in all it was a good day.”

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RELATED: Atlanta Braves great Chipper Jones had a take on AR-15s that may surprise you

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