According to a report by an ABC affiliate, the incident happened just before 5 a.m. Betty Collins was home alone, her boyfriend, Mike Billick, had just left for work. However, he was at a nearby gas station when he noticed a man, who he described as suspicious, wearing only shoes and shorts, walking up towards their home. He called Collins to warn her, and she grabbed her gun.

The would-be intruder, later identified as 31-year-old Kyle Caldwell of Temperance, Michigan, started kicking the front door, in an attempt to get inside. Collins said she screamed at him as loud as she could, saying firmly, “Get off my porch. I have a gun. I will shoot you.” Caldwell continued kicking the door, so Collins repeated herself, “Get off my porch! I have a gun! I will shoot you!” He still continued, so she opened the door and Caldwell then found his face 5 inches from the receiving end of a loaded .357.