DETROIT – Authorities say a 21-year-old man was shot Monday when he broke into a home on Detroit's east side.

Police say a 29-year-old woman was upstairs when someone broke into her house in the 5500 block of University Place. Her brother was downstairs on the couch, and she heard shots fired at around 3:40 a.m.

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She said she heard someone asked if there was anyone else in the house, so she armed herself and stood at the top of the stairs.

Shortly afterwards, a man arrived at St. John Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. He is listed in critical condition. A police source tells Local 4 that the man was an intruder in the break-in.

Police say the man who was shot told them that someone shot him on Chandler Park and he called a cousin to take him to the hospital.

Neighbors say they would have done the same thing as the residents if someone armed with a gun broke into their home.

"It started with a small commotion, then followed by four or five gunshots," said Demetrius, who lives nearby. "And after that we heard a car pulling off. And shortly after, the police pulling up."

That's what Demetrius heard at around 3:45 a.m. on University Place near Chandler Park on Detroit's east side.

"He's actually a friend of mine," Demetrius said of the man who lives in the home. "So I was kind of worried. I gave his cell phone a call. Nobody answered."

Neighbors say they support what the victims did to protect themselves.

"That's good, he had to," said Eric, another neighbor. "I would have done the same thing. Me or them. It got to be them, coming in my house. What would you do if someone came into your house, with your family?"

If you have any information on this incident, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.