A woman opened fired on a masturbating man trying to break into her southeast Houston home Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The woman, in her sixties, was taking out her trash along the 6600 block of Cherrydale Drive around 5:15 p.m. when she spotted the man – riding his bike – masturbating, according to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson.

She yelled at him to stop the lewd act but he persisted, Crowson said.

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The man eventually followed the woman to her front door after she went inside and allegedly tried to break in. The woman ordered the man to go away and even told him she had a gun, Crowson said.

When the man refused to stop, she fired one round through her front door, striking the man in his chest.

He immediately ran back to his bike and managed to pedal a few feet away from the house before collapsing, Crowson said. Paramedics rushed him to Ben Taub Hospital in critical condition. He is now expected to survive.

The woman was questioned by officers and homicide detectives but was not immediately charged, Crowson said. Investigators will work with the Harris County District Attorney's Office to determine if charges are necessary.

"I would have done the same thing if it were my house," said one neighbor, who asked to not be identified. "Ain't no telling what else he was going to do or what he's got. She was protecting her property."

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The man was out on bond for a separate exposure charge from about a week ago, Crowson said. Officers at the scene recognized the man from that arrest, when he was allegedly walking down a busy southeast Houston street in the buff.

Officers initially thought the man exposed himself to the woman's granddaughter, but later determined that was not the case.

Her 14-year-old granddaughter was inside the home when the action unfolded, but the child did not see any of it, Crowson said. The woman was shaken up by the incident but was cooperating with detectives.

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Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com