LAUDERHILL, Fla. -- Lauderhill police are investigating what appears to be a case of self-defense after a woman shot a man who broke into her apartment Wednesday morning.

Images | Would You Shoot An Intruder?

Police said the woman was inside the apartment with her children at about 6:30 a.m. when the man entered the home.

"The female caller advised that a white elderly gentleman had broken inside her apartment," Lt. Tundra King said. "It was at that time that the female ordered him to leave the apartment. He refused."

Police said the woman then shot the 67-year-old intruder with a 9 mm handgun.

"What we know is that the female victim was just afraid for her life. She had her children inside the apartment with her and was afraid of what this gentleman might do to her," King said. "In an effort to stop him, she ended up firing and shooting him one time."

NBC 6's Tina Conte reported that clothes littered the sidewalk in front of the apartment building where the man staggered outside and collapsed with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was rushed to Broward General Medical Center.

"Unfortunately, she did ask the gentleman to leave and for whatever reason he did not and she felt it necessary to take law into her own hands to protect her family," King said.

A cousin of the homeowner told NBC 6 that the woman lives alone with her four children.

Police have not identified the alleged burglar.