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BRYAN COUNTY, Okla. — A 12-year-old girl did what she had to do to protect herself from an intruder in her home on the Texas border. 

She hid in a closet and shot him when he tried to open the door. 

Authorities said the preteen was home alone when the suspect rang the door bell. 

When she didn’t answer, deputies said, the man went around the back of the house and kicked in the door. 

At that point the girl grabbed a gun and and hid in a closet. 

“He had worked his way all the way through the house and into the bathroom,” Bryan County Under sheriff Ken Golden said. “And from what we understand, he was turning the doorknob when she fired through the door.”

Crews said she remained calm and called for help after she shot the intruder.

Deputies said the man was flown to a Plano, Texas, hospital and is expected to survive.

Golden said, “She did everything she was supposed to do and as a last resort, she did what she had to do to protect herself.”

The intruder has been identified as Stacy Jones of Texarkana.

So far no charges have been filed.

See our sister station KTEN’s full report here.