A 79-year-old man in Alabama was fed up after his home was robbed more than a dozen times in one year — and shot the next attempted burglar dead.

According to WBRC, John Croft shot and killed a would-be burglar early Wednesday morning, after he was awoken from his sleep by two attempted robbers breaking into his home through a window. A third suspect was reportedly outside in a getaway car.

“I hate that boy dead, but I don’t hate I shot him,” Croft told the news station, explaining that after living in his home for 21 years, he had become a target for burglars during the last year. His home had reportedly been broken into 13 times in 12 months.

“I’ve been a prisoner in my house,” Croft told WBRC. He recounted the early-morning break-in to the news station:

I have three bedrooms. I think they checked the other two bedrooms out and then he came over there and said, ‘Don’t move!’ He heard the bed squeak. I was getting my gun. He said, ‘Don’t move’ and he used the ‘N’ word and I shot.

According to the news station, the suspect had shot Croft in the ankle – but he didn’t realize it at the time. Authorities have reportedly determined that Croft was acting in self-defense. And while it does not appear that he will be facing any criminal charges, Croft told the news station he felt terrible about the fact that a young man is now dead.

“I just hate to meet his mother because it was a teen,” Croft told WBRC. “And there’s nothing as precious to a mom as a son. And you know what’s been happening to black boys today. For another black man to shoot one don’t look good. But like I say, I had no choice.”

Photo: Fox 8 Screenshot