SOUTH RICHMOND HILL — A Queens man turned the tables on armed burglars during a home invasion early Tuesday — wrestling for a gun with one of the would-be thieves until it went off and hit the suspect in the leg, police and the man said.
Ghulan Khanlodhy, 43, was sleeping in his home at 101-11 109th Street when at about 3 a.m. he woke up to the two masked burglars pointing a gun at him.
"Give me the money! Give me the money!" one of the men demanded, Khanlodhy told DNAinfo.com New York. "At that time, I thought somebody in my family was playing a joke on me.
"And then I heard my wife screaming, 'They're gonna kill us! They're gonna kills us!'"
Khanlodhy's wife, Joreena Khan, said one of the thieves choked her and covered her mouth when they asked for money and gold.
One of the burglars held Khanlodhy while the gunman kept his weapon pointed at Khan. But when the gunman tossed the weapon to this partner, in an effort to force Khanlodhy to take them to a safe, Khanlodhy made his move.
"I just thought they would kill her anyway...so I just grabbed the gun," Khanlodhy said.
"He tried to save me," Khan said.
Khanlodhy then jumped for the gun and fought with the burglar, who bit him on the arm.
During the struggle, the gun discharged, striking the alleged burglar in the right leg, police said. Khanlodhy said he tried pulling the trigger, but the gun jammed.
Other relatives heard the commotion and helped restrain the suspect.
"He told me, 'That's the thief!' and we all jumped in to hold him," said Jagdish Seagopaul, 53, Khanlodhy's brother. "My brother choked the thief while I and his wife held his hands until the cops came."
Cops arrived and took the 21-year-old suspect, who has not been identified, into custody. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated for the gunshot wound and listed in stable condition.
The suspect, who sources said had at least 20 arrests, including for burglary, was awaiting charges, police said.
The other burglar, who fled through a window, is still at large, police said.
