DETROIT – A homeowner on Detroit's west side is thankful that she got her concealed weapons permit last year.

The 50-year-old woman used it to fend off an intruder early Tuesday morning at her home on Heyden Street.

The homeowner's family told Local 4 that the woman heard someone trying to break in around 12:30 a.m. She immediately called 911 and grabbed her handgun.

"All she just kept saying, 'I don't want to shoot anybody,'" said Anita McGee, the homeowner's sister.

The woman repeatedly warned the suspect that she had a gun. Police say the 24-year-old man used a crowbar to break a rear window at the home. After he made his way into the home, she opened fire.

She was still on the phone with the 911 operator.

"Once he got the window broke, he did try to enter the house. So that's when she told the lady on the other end that she was going to shoot and she did," said McGee.

Police say the suspect was hit in the arm and was taken to the hospital. At last check, he was in temporarily serious condition.

This was the first break-in at the home. The woman has lived there for more than 20 years. Her brother is glad she took his advice and got a gun for protection last year.

"That's my hero. That's my hero. Definitely," said Jimmie McGee.

Related: More Detroit homeowners fight back against intruders