This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

An armed robber was shot and wounded by his intended victim in a confrontation in a downtown Denver parking lot, according to a report.

It happened in the parking facility for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science when two men, with weapons drawn, approached a man who had arrived at the museum with his girlfriend and two children.

According to a report from KDVR television, police responded to the incident on New Year's Eve.

The intended victim told officers his group arrived at the museum, and he noticed two Hispanic men walking toward them with handguns drawn, the report said.

The station said police reports offered the description of the two as Hispanic men about 18 to 24 with thin builds and just under six feet tall.

"The man told officers he was in fear for his, his girlfriend and his children’s lives," the station said.

The suspects grabbed at their target and demanded a silver chain he was wearing around his neck, and then one allegedly struck the victim in the back of the head, the report said.

So the intended victim explained he grabbed his concealed carry handgun from his waistband, and when the suspects "began firing their guns" and hitting his car where the children were sitting, he returned fire.

The thugs then fled, and a short time later, an officer at Presbyterian St. Luke’s alerted them to a man with a gunshot wound who was seeking treatment.

A review of security tape showed the man had been dropped off by someone in a vehicle matching the one that fled the museum parking lot.

"The suspect who was shot was transported to Denver Health where he was taken into custody. He has been identified as 21-year-old Oscar Alejandro Mendoza. However, the second man fled from the hospital before being contacted by police," KDVR reported.