“‘I DID WHAT I HAD TO DO’ — A mother’s chilling words are making headlines after police say she discovered a man inside her daughter’s bedroom in the middle of the night. Authorities have charged the woman with murder, but the shocking circumstances surrounding the case have ignited a fierce debate online about protection, fear, and where the law draws the line.

A woman is accused of shooting and killing a man she found in her child’s bedroom, saying she “did what she had to do.”

The shooting happened early Thursday in the Walker Homes neighborhood of Memphis.

Memphis police responded to the shooting at 1:45 a.m.

When police arrived, they found a man lying in the front yard with a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A woman, later identified as Kendra Scott, 36, was arrested at the scene.

According to an affidavit, Scott told police she found the man under her child’s bed and said, “I did what I had to do.”

Police later learned the child invited the man into the house.

The girl told officers Scott warned her that if she ever brought a boy into the house, Scott would “put a hole in his a**.”

After further investigation, Scott was charged with first-degree murder and with employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Scott’s arraignment is set for Friday.