A woman shot and killed an armed intruder who tried to rob her inside her northwest Atlanta apartment, police said.

According to police, the woman called 911 just before 11 p.m. Monday to report the shooting on Harwell Road off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased male and a second male were both armed when they entered an apartment at that location and attempted to rob the occupants,” Atlanta police Officer Jarius Daugherty told Channel 2 Action News in a statement. “At that time, an occupant of the apartment shot one of the intruders.”

The second intruder fled the scene, according to police.

The man was found dead inside the apartment with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office as 26-year-old David Freeman.

The mother of the shooter, who has not been named by police, said the woman “just defended herself.”

“From what I understand, she was in her home and somebody tried to break in,” Brenda Parks told Channel 2. “I don’t know why, but they tried to break in.”

The woman stayed on scene and was cooperating with police.

“No charges are anticipated at this time,” Daugherty said. “The investigation continues.”

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Protestors demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents in March. An Atlanta-based law firm has filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing it illegally terminated the immigration records of five international students and two alumni from Georgia colleges, including one from Emory University. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

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