Sometimes it just goes horribly wrong...

And my sympathy goes out to everyone affected, in this case, a decent law-abiding family and a good cop doing his job and following his training.

PHOENIX (AP) _ A Phoenix man who held an armed burglar at gunpoint in his home was shot several times by a responding officer, police said Thursday.

Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the man was hit in the stomach and the leg, but that the injuries are not life-threatening. He would not release the man's name.

The incident late Wednesday happened as officers responded to a flurry of calls in an east Phoenix neighborhood reporting gunshots, a wounded man who acted strangely after being let into a good Samaritan's home and finally, a break-in at a nearby home.

At the last home, Thompson said arriving officers saw the front window broken out and a screaming woman who had fled with two children while her mate confronted the armed intruder.

Thompson said the suspect had fled the first home and used a gun to shoot out the front window of the second house and them climbed inside.

When officers went in the house, Thompson said they ordered everyone out and saw the armed homeowner coming down a hallway.

That's when one officer, a 6-year veteran of the force, shot the 35-year-old man several times.

``We fire upon people when we believe there is a danger to ourselves or others,'' Thompson said. ``So what exactly the officer was thinking, I would say yeah, that for him to fire he would have believed there was a danger, there was an imminent threat right there.''

Thompson said the burglar's gun was recovered at the scene, but was not on the suspect himself. He was not sure how the homeowner gained the upper hand.

The suspect was identified as Angel Anastacio Canales, 27. Thompson said he was being held on one count of armed burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and weapons misconduct. He suffered unspecified leg wounds.

Now I'm not about to join in the condemnation offered up by the legions of internet armchair commandos, most of whom have never been in a shooting situation and hate the police for no reason other than petty jealousy. I can fully understand how this happened and sympathize with the officer who, while responding to information that indicated that there was a crazy man with a gun in the house who had already fired shots, perceived an immediate threat when he saw someone with a weapon and acted in accordance with proper police (and armed civilian) training. It's unfortunate that in this case, the armed individual was actually one of the good guys, but in the real world, even with the best training and intentions, the unforeseen happens and good people get hurt.

Fortunately in this case, the homeowner was not killed. My condolence is with him and with the officer, who'll undoubtedly be dealing with this for a while.

And here's hoping that Angel Anastacio Canales (I can't wait to find out what his citizenship is) winds up in prison for the next few decades.