John Oughtred and Rebecca King-Jones only met three weeks ago. But the couple has already flown to Panama together, rented a romantic vacation home, and fought off an armed intruder.
The pair from Victoria, B.C., was spending a relaxing morning on the picturesque island of Bastimentos, Panama, when a masked stranger burst into their rental home.
"As I turned the corner, there was a guy standing there and he was completely suited up," King-Jones told CTV Vancouver. "He had a mask, a bandana over his face, hat on, gloves, and he was pointing a gun at me."
With little time to think, Oughtred sprang to action.
He charged at the intruder and wrestled the gun out of the stranger's grip.
"My focus was the gun and getting that away from in between the two of us," Oughtred said.
Then, with the weapon out of the man's hands, Oughtred lifted the intruder up and hurled him off the balcony.
"I just proceeded to pick him up over my shoulder and I ran about another 10 feet carrying him, and then just basically shot him down about 20 to 25 feet off the balcony," Oughtred said.
Local authorities arrived and apprehended the man, who, they said, was actually wanted for a string of robberies in the area.
"All we know is that he was taken into custody and that they had sort of mentioned that he (had) some big cuts to his face," King-Jones said.
After the violent encounter, the couple decided to cut their holiday short and head home to Canada, arriving back Saturday night.
But despite trip's abrupt ending, they say they still think highly of Panama.
"It's a beautiful country and the people are pleasant and super welcoming," King-Jones said. "I don't want to create a negative buzz from this story."
With files from CTV Vancouver
