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Adrenalin, parental instincts and lessons learned from his dad kicked into overdrive at the start of Matthew Phillips鈥檚 Father鈥檚 Day weekend when an attempted carjacker pulled a rifle on him and his 3-year-old daughter in Pierce County.

Hospitalized after the Friday morning ordeal in Parkland, Phillips described to The Dori Monson Show listeners how he continued to protect his daughter even after one of two suspects in the incident shot him in the mouth, leaving pieces of a bullet lodged in his tongue.

It started, he said, after loading his daughter into his vehicle on their way to daycare.

鈥淚 had just barely turned the corner when I was greeted by a man with a rifle,鈥� Phillips told Dori. 鈥淗e started yelling at me `I want the truck. I want the wallet. Give me everything.鈥�

鈥淗e keeps saying `I鈥檓 homeless. Nobody鈥檚 going to help me,鈥欌�� the Parkland dad continued. 鈥淚 kept saying `my daughter鈥檚 in the car. This is not a good idea.鈥欌��

Despite the gun, Phillips knew he had a size advantage.

鈥淚鈥檓 5鈥� 11鈥� and almost 300 pounds,鈥� Phillips described. His attacker? 鈥淰ery young. He looked like he may have been on drugs. . . He鈥檚 5鈥�5鈥�, maybe 120 pounds.鈥�

In the split seconds that the rifle-armed suspect reached over Phillips to grab his wallet, Phillips reacted.

鈥淢y dad was ex-military; my dad showed me some things,鈥� he described. Able to overtake the suspect鈥檚 rifle, and drop it on the passenger seat, Phillips threw his pickup into reverse to escape. Moments later, the 20-year-old would-be carjacker pulled out a second weapon 鈥� a pistol 鈥� and fired three shots at Phillips. One bullet hit the truck鈥檚 window and then its dash before striking him in the mouth.

鈥淭hey pulled the whole bullet out of my tongue,鈥� the defensive dad described. 鈥淚t left a chunk out of there, and I have missing teeth and a piece of my lip to go with it.

鈥淢ost of all, I had to make sure 3-year-old daughter was safe, that she was going to be okay and that he was not able to take off with the truck no matter what happened to me,鈥� Phillips told Dori. The suspect 鈥渄id run up to the vehicle to finish it off.鈥�

With blood pouring from his mouth, Phillips emerged from his pickup to struggle with the suspect and pin him to the ground.

In what Dori compared to a horror movie scene that just won鈥檛 end, the attack took on another frightening twist.

鈥淎 17-year-old girl came out of nowhere, got into passenger side and grabbed the rifle,鈥� Phillips continued. 鈥淚鈥檝e got him pinned to the ground and she鈥檚 yelling `get off of him.鈥欌��

That鈥檚 when Kevin 鈥� a neighbor he had never met before 鈥� managed to get the rifle away from the girl, the Parkland dad explained.

“The whole time, she had the pistol in her sweatshirt pocket. She was holding it and any time she could have shot me,鈥� Phillips told Dori. 鈥淗e (the would-be carjacker) was telling her to shoot me. That鈥檚 when police arrived. . . She pointed the gun at the police officer.鈥�

Deputies managed to talk the girl into dropping the weapon before both suspects were arrested.

鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful for the Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 department,鈥� said Phillips.

Now that the rush is over, Dori asked, what are you feeling?

鈥淚t hit me all at once,鈥� Phillips answered. 鈥淚鈥檓 thankful that I鈥檓 here. The biggest thing is that my daughter鈥檚 okay. That鈥檚 the one thing I cared about. That鈥檚 all that mattered.鈥�

And how did Phillips celebrate Father鈥檚 Day with his preschooler?

鈥淲e hung out and snuggled all day,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he didn鈥檛 leave my side.鈥�

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.