MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — A 93-year-old California man shot at least one intruder after being attacked when several people invaded his home, authorities said.

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Joe Teague, of Moreno Valley, opened fire inside his home shortly after midnight on Wednesday, KNBC-TV reported.

“The fact is, when they broke in they got a lot of my equipment and I approached them to put them under citizens arrest,” Teague told the television station. “I kept telling them, I have a shotgun with three shells in it, but I actually only had one. And they kept throwing stuff at me.”

The alleged intruder was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, KABC-TV reported.

Oscar Malma, who is married to Teague’s granddaughter, told the television station that the elderly man’s property had been broken into several times.

“It happened once on Friday, Friday they went to break in the house,” Malma told KNBC. “And now this happened in the middle of the night. They were looking for him.

“He’s an old retired plumber and he has a lot of tools. He was a musician as well, so he has a lot of musical instruments. Little by little they’ve been ripping him off.”

Teague was questioned by investigators from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and it is unclear whether he will be arrested.

“I don’t blame Joe. He’s been working all his life, he’s 93,” Malma told KNBC. “He’s been working on his life and whatever little things he has, he needs to protect them.”

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