An elderly woman woke up to noises of glass breaking and footsteps inside her home near Poplar and Watt Streets, May 5, according to Philadelphia police officials.

"This is where he was trying to get in at," said Maxine Thompson.

She saw a man and drew her gun, police said. The woman shot at the man several times and he fled the scene. The 70-year-old homeowner said that the intruder used backyard furniture to hoist himself inside her home.

Thompson is as calm as can be as she shows her now busted dining room window and chunks of glass scattered on the floor.

"I have people that will come and fix this. It'll be fixed in no time," Thompson stated.

It was Thompson who fixed things overnight. Police say a 43-year-old man broke into her home around 4:30 a.m. May 5. Now that man is in the hospital.


"First I thought I was dreaming and then I looked out the window, outside. I was still hearing the banging, banging, banging, so I yelled to whoever, 'Who's that on my door? Get off my door, get off my door,'" Thompson explained.

She offered fair warning, with the security alarm sounding, but the brazen burglar didn't pause. Instead, Thompson said he smasher her window and used backyard furniture to hoist himself inside her home. In the heat of the moment, the 70-year-old grandmother grabbed her late-mother's handgun and opened fire for the first time.

"I shot at him. He turned around and he ran and when he ran, I ran down the steps behind him and shot at him some more," Maxine said.

Thompson, whose son happens to be a Philadelphia police officer, said she was in survival mode.

"Kill him before he killed me. That's what was going through my mind," Thompson explained.

A real-life terror played out for about 10 minutes. It took a little while to set in.

"After everything was over, then I did get a little shaky. He could've killed me," said Thompson.

She is okay. Her grandchildren helped her clean up the mess and she took a little time to reflect.

"I hope I taught him and the rest of them a lesson. Stay the hell out of people's houses," Thompson stated.

The suspect ran to the corner of Broad and Parish and climbed on top of a car wash. According to investigators, the man then called police to tell them he had been shot.

The suspect was transported to Hahnemann University Hospital. He was to be taken into custody for home invasion.

