BELLEVUE, TENNESSEE -- A Bellevue woman's fast reactions may have saved her life and the life of her young child after two gunmen kicked in her front door early Saturday morning.

"Within a matter of seconds they were coming to me and I really had no time to think. Myself and my child. Protect myself and my kid. That's it," said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

She was sharing a bed with her 18-month-old daughter.

"I heard the loudest noise -- like someone had driven a car through the front door."

The front door was kicked in, the lock shattered.

"I get up out of bed and looked over the steps and there are two men coming up the steps with guns."

She said the men were hooded, faces covered, and each carried a gun.

The woman screamed and then reacted. "My husband leaves a gun by the nightstand for me. I picked it up and started firing."

She fired the .22 caliber pistol twice and the intruders turned to run.

One bullet ended up in the wall. "I think I hit one with the second shot over the steps as they were leaving."

Metro police used a canine unit to track the men. The dogs tracked the suspect across the yard and up a hill but lost the scent.

Police said the woman acted appropriately.

"I fired out of panic. I wish I had aimed directly at the chest or heads. I know that may sound harsh to someone watching, but when you have to protect your child and yourself & I wish that I knew I had two dead intruders than two people out my front door."

The woman said she is concerned because the two suspects remain at large.

Nothing was taken and neither her nor her daughter was injured.

The family is now moving from the home.

Police were investigating the crime. Police said they hope someone with information about the crime will come forward.

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