WOOD RIVER, Ill. – Two men are recovering after shooting each other in Wood River, Illinois, early Tuesday morning after police said a father took matters into his own hands.

According to the Wood River Police Department, the shooting happened off North 6th Street, right by Lewis and Clark Junior High School.

A woman showed up at her parents’ home around 2:30 a.m. She had been severely beaten.

Police claim the woman’s father tracked down the man accused of harming his daughter and shot him in the middle of the street.

Both men suffered gunshot wounds, according to police. Both men were taken to a local hospital; one by ambulance, the other via helicopter.

FOX 2 spoke with neighbors off camera who said they witnessed the shooting. One neighbor said that after he heard a pop, he stepped outside and saw the older man standing over the younger one, pointing a gun at him. He heard the younger man beg the older man not to shoot him, followed by the older man saying, “That’s my daughter! She means everything to me!”

After that, he said he watched as the older man shot the younger one and then waited for police to arrive. He said the older man did not appear severely injured from his vantage point, while he heard the younger man screaming in pain.

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Longtime resident Mildred Rulo said these kinds of things just don’t happen in Wood River.

“My thought is, I’m just glad they knew each other,” Rulo said.

Rulo said while the shooting is troubling, she still feels safe in the area.

“If I thought someone was going around the neighborhood shooting people just for the fun of it, I would have been sure the doors was locked. And I’d be more careful about who I opened the door to,” she said.

Others said they don’t blame a father for wanting to defend his daughter. Local resident Dawn Howard agrees with that sentiment but thinks it could have been handled differently.

“It’s hard to blame a parent. There’s five girls in our family, and I can see all of our dads going after a guy,” Howard said. “But with a gun? No…beat him up; don’t shoot him.”

Police have not released the names of the men involved nor said if either had been charged. The Wood River Police Department plan to turn the case over to the Madison County State’s Attorney once they finish their investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.