Grandpa avenger

B'klyn retiree shoots burglar in his kitchen

These punks picked the wrong retiree to mess with.

A former guidance counselor opened fire on a pair of thugs rummaging through his Brooklyn kitchen during a break-in early yesterday, striking one intruder and sending his scared accomplice fleeing into the night, police said.

Larry Goldstein, 63, had a license for the .38-caliber revolver and was not charged. The suspect he shot, Alexander Manigat, 30, was in critical condition after being blasted in the chest and grazed in the ear.

The terrifying ordeal began as Goldstein and his wife were sleeping on the second floor of their Mill Basin home around 2 a.m. yesterday and were startled by the sounds of burglars.

The grandfather grabbed his licensed revolver and headed down to the kitchen, where he saw the two men packing what appeared to be a pistol and a machine gun, sources said.

In moments, gunfire rang out -- and the accomplice dropped his weapon and ran.

"It was frightening. I don't know, it was protective instinct," said Goldstein, a father of two adult daughters and grandfather to a 1-year-old girl.

"I'm just sorry it happened. I'm all shaken up."

He added, "I never expected to have a break-in and I'm glad that nobody was hurt in my family."

It turned out the thugs were armed with a starter pistol and a replica machine gun. Police said Goldstein would not be charged because he has a pistol permit and legitimately believed his life was in danger.

Manigat, whose record includes arrests for burglary, grand larceny, drugs and forgery, was at Brookdale Hospital when he was charged with robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and possession of burglar's tools.

The unidentified accomplice is still being sought.

Neighbors of Goldstein, who retired as guidance counselor of Arthur W. Cunningham JHS seven year ago, said he was known for tutoring kids and taking care of stray cats -- not packing heat.

"Hopefully, he'll make people think twice about coming here and knocking down doors," said neighbor Fred Barone, 37.

Added neighbor Betsy Sirkorski, "As a person who's been an opponent of gun ownership, I'm glad he had one now."

Manigat's mother, Cecile Antoine, said: "My son knows better than that."

She recalled that he was working on his résumé at their Flatbush home at around 11 p.m. Tuesday when a heavyset friend picked him up.

Mill Basin neighbor Donna Attias, 26, said that earlier in the night, two men tried to steal her husband's motor scooter but he scared them off.

"There has to be a connection," she said. "It's very scary."

Additional reporting by Larry Celona and Kevin Fasick