An 80-year-old great grandmother shot and killed an intruder in her home after he stabbed her husband and hit him with a crowbar.

(Aticle by Jennifer Newton, republished from //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3580961/I-m-not-just-typical-granny-Woman-80-shot-killed-intruder-broke-stabbed-husband-kitchen-just-did-do.html)

Barb Moles, a grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of three, had been at her home in Seattle with her husband John and their adult son when she heard an altercation at the front of the house.

When she went into the kitchen to check the noise, she discovered her husband, John, lying in a pool of blood.

He told her he had been stabbed and without a second’s thought, Mrs Moles raced to her bedroom to retrieve a .38 caliber gun before confronting the intruder, named as Steven N. Sheppard, in the hallway.

She fired the weapon four times, with three of her shots hitting the 25-year-old intruder who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Mrs Moles said she had to protect her family.

She told KOMO: ‘You know how mothers are with their kids. That’s the way I am with my husband. I just protect his back. I’m not just the typical granny — in case you haven’t noticed.

‘I felt like if I hadn’t, my son and I might both be dead and my husband might have bled to death on the kitchen floor. You know, never in my whole life did I ever anticipate having to take another life — especially at age 80.’

Authorities investigating the case believe Sheppard may have been looking for prescription drugs to steal when he was disturbed by Mr Moles.

The Snohomish County Sheriff are yet to send the case to the prosecuting attorney, so it is unclear if any charges will be filed.

Mrs Moles added: ‘I just did what I had to do and I’m so sorry for [the intruder’s] family. I just feel badly for his family.’

After the incident Mr Moles, a former Boeing employee, was airlifted to hospital, where he is still being treated.

One of the couple’s grandchildren, Morgan Dobson, has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her grandfather’s medical bills, as well as clean up their ‘blood soaked carpet’.