A 28-year-old South Bend man says he was convinced there was a burglar outside his home, so he fired a bullet.

As we told you on Tuesday, South Bend Police say a heavily intoxicated 23-year-old Notre Dame student tried to enter her next door neighbor's home early Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday night, the neighbor spoke exclusively with NewsCenter 16. He says he is relieved that the young woman is okay.

He fears retaliation and losing his job, so he asked us not to reveal his name.

“If it was a robber behind that door, I could have been hurt, my family could have been hurt, my friend could have been hurt,” he explained.

He went from relaxing and playing video games with his friend inside his East Miner Street home, to reacting to what he calls a frightening situation.

“Robbers don't knock -- they jiggle the door knob,” he explained. “The door knob jiggles again. I yell, 'Get the [expletive] away from my door.'”

He says he was afraid to look out the window in case the person on the porch had a weapon.

“Door knob jiggles again, so I run upstairs, I grab my gun. I do call the cops. The dispatcher is asking me all types of ridiculous questions that I thought were irrelevant, like, 'Who's in the house? Can you see him?'"

“After that, I just dropped the phone and I yelled again, 'Get away from my door. I have a gun.' The door knob jiggles again, I fire one shot.”

He says that's when he heard a woman scream.

“I never fired the gun as long as I had it, so we were in a panic.”

When he ran to the door to see if the bullet hit her, he says a man yelled, "We're fine," and they made their way inside the home directly next door.

He says he didn't know until shortly after that she had a gunshot wound to the arm.

Police say the woman was on her way home from Club 23 and was heavily intoxicated. She thought her neighbor's house was hers.

“I’m sorry it was her and it wasn't a burglar. That's the only thing I can think of -- protecting my family. I don't think I was totally at fault. She drank so much that she didn't know where she lived. The guy… I think he should have been sober enough to hear me yelling through the door to get away from my door.”

NewsCenter 16 did contact Club 23, but they didn't return our call.

No arrests have been made in this case. South Bend Police say the information will be forwarded to the prosecutor's office to decide if charges will be filed.