A robber in Albuquerque, N.M., pulled a gun on the wrong people. Not only were the victims two former CNN journalists — one of them a war correspondent and former Green Beret — but they were armed and ready, allowing them to shoot and kill the gunman.

Former anchor Lynne Russell and her former war correspondent husband Chuck de Caro stopped in the New Mexico capital to visit friends during a road trip from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, reported KOB.

As Russell was leaving her motel room to go to the car late Tuesday, the gunman forced her back into the room. De Caro, a former Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces, came out.

"We tried to calm him, confuse him and do everything we could do to just come out of it in one piece," Russell told KOB.

When the couple realized the robber might shoot them, they were ready to fight back. Both Russell and de Caro have concealed carry licenses, so she had a gun handy in her purse.

According to Russell, the gunman fired the first shot, then he and de Caro exchanged fire.

De Caro, hit three times, received surgery at a local hospital and is expected to recover. Police discovered the gunman in the parking lot. He later died at the hospital. Russell did not sustain any injuries but was "shaken up," according to KOAT.

"I am very, very proud of my husband. He is my hero," Russell said. "He saved my life."

The ex-Green Beret is currently an information warfare consultant for the Pentagon. Russell was a formidable force herself. Aside from being the first female to solo-anchor a prime time network news show, she is a former sheriff's deputy and has a black belt in karate. She retired about 10 years ago from CNN.

Most defensive uses of firearms don't involve any shots — the mere brandishing of a gun can work wonders on criminals who expect no resistance. But this case shows how concealed carry really can be a reasonable precaution.

Emily Leayman is an intern at the Washington Examiner