A St. Joseph woman heard someone breaking into her home Saturday morning and ran to get her gun. When she saw the home invader she fired a shot at him, and he quickly decided that he had a pressing engagement somewhere else.

A homeowner reportedly shot at a burglar during an attempted home invasion on Cudmore Avenue Saturday morning.

Sgt. Byrom with the St. Joseph Police Department said a woman called shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday to report the attempted burglary. She told police that she shot her personal firearm at an individual she believed was trying to break into her home.

The woman was unsure if the bullet struck the individual, but said the person fled immediately after the shot was fired.

This defensive gun use is one of hundreds of thousands to millions a year (depending on the studies you believe) where a crime was thwarted by an armed citizen. In most of these incidents the mere display of a firearm is enough to discourage a crime, and incidents like this where shots were fired but no one was (obviously) hit are so mundane as to barely even raise a blip on the radar of local news most days.

Be armed. Be trained. Be ready.