A woman who was viciously attacked in a parking garage in January is informing gun controllers that she is alive today because she was armed.

Breitbart News previously reported that the woman–Kristi McMains–was attacked by a knife-wielding man in a parking garage in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 26. The man followed her into an elevator, exited with her and chased her as she ran toward the safety of her car. He caught her before she could get inside the car, forcing her into a desperate fight for her life.

McMains was able to stop the attack by getting grabbing her gun and shooting the attacker “multiple times.”

Writing on Fox News, McMains said:

I am a young, 5’3 attorney who probably was seen as an easy target. My attacker mistakenly perceived me as weak and stalked me into an elevator, which took me on the slowest and scariest thirteen second ride of my life. I correctly listened to my instincts; I had a feeling that my life was in danger in that elevator and prepared myself mentally for what was potentially to come. I ran to my car in an attempt to escape and, before I could even get my entire body in my car, I was tackled by my attacker. This man quickly overpowered me, stabbed at me with a knife, clamped his hand over my mouth multiple times, and repeatedly tried forcing me in the passenger seat of my car while telling me, “We’re going.” The entire time this was happening, a rusted, serrated knife was being stabbed towards my abdomen and held at my face. I had been hit in the face, thrown over my driver’s side console, and had rips in my tights from his hands trying to force my legs up and over into the passenger seat.

McMains said she put up the greatest of physical fights, exhausting all other options before reaching for her gun. But oncce she did reach the gun she put it work. McMains said, “I shot my attacker multiple times, and saved my life.”

Now she has a message for Americans who are watching Michael Bloomberg, Julianne Moore, Spike Lee, Moms Demand Action, Brooke Shields and others push for more gun control on “Gun Violence Awareness Day.” Here is her message:

What I want you to know on Gun [Violence] Awareness Day is that a gun in the hands of a potential victim is not improperly placed; it can be the only thing keeping her from being brutally raped and murdered. Without my gun, I would not be alive today. Guns are not the problem in America; men like my attacker — who are willing to violently change one person’s life for no reason except for pure evil – are the problem. Be safe at all times. Be aware of your surroundings. Trust your instincts. Always be able to protect yourself. Refuse to be a victim, and instead be a fighter and a survivor. Live to tell your tale and make a criminal regret the day he chose you as a “soft target.” My gun saved my life, and one could save yours too.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.