A California homeowner exercised his right to bear arms -- and take pictures -- after a group of people tried to break into his home.

Yan Zhang of Chino Hills was at home with his wife and children when five people tried to enter the house through a balcony in the back.

Zhang grabbed his gun, told his wife to hide the kids and then went to work.

"They were home and then several (suspects) kind of tried to pry the door open, tried to get in," neighbor Tony Tran told CNN affiliate KTLA. "(Zhang) got a gun so he fired a warning shot and was able to apprehend them until the police showed up."

Zhang held three of the suspects (two ran off) at gunpoint on pool deck. Nerve-wracking stuff for sure, but he was still chill enough to exercise another one of America's most cherished rights -- the right to take a cell phone camera photo at anytime.

And what a picture it is: You can stare right down the length of Zhang's handgun and then look at the three would-be burglars, lying almost face-down on the concrete with their hands out where you can see them.

After the cops dragged the bad guys away, Zhang posted the pics to a Chinese social media site. Needless to say, they were soon everywhere.