87-Year-Old Woman Fights Off Intruder, Then Feeds Him Because He Was Hungry

An 87-year-old woman from Brunswick, Maine, is being praised for both her toughness and compassion after dealing with an intruder in her home.

Marjorie Perkins awoke around 2 a.m. on July 26 to find a man standing over her bed. The man, who was not wearing a shirt or pants, threatened to cut her.

Perkins jumped out of bed and used a chair as a shield as she fought back against the teenage intruder.

"He kept knocking me against the wall. He put a bruise on my forehead and one on my cheek," Perkins told CNN.

Perkins managed to force the intruder out of her bedroom, and she followed him into the kitchen.

"He stopped in the kitchen by the sink and said he was very hungry, and he hadn't had anything to eat in a long time," Perkins said.

Perkins then offered the teen some food and drinks to stall for time. She gave him a box of peanut butter and honey crackers, two tangerines, and two protein drinks. While he ate, Perkins called 911 on her rotary phone. While she was speaking to the dispatcher, the teen put on his pants and left her home.

Authorities did not identify the intruder, but Perkins said she knew him from the neighborhood, telling CNN that he used to mow her lawn when he was a kid.

The teen was taken into custody and is facing charges of burglary, criminal threatening, assault, and consuming alcohol as a minor.