Mother relives terrifying moments after burglars broke into her home

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Around 4 a.m. on Feb. 10th, Alexia Templar was woken up to the sound of shattering glass and footsteps inside her home on the city's east side near Hill Park.

At first, she thought it was just the TV, but after hearing more footsteps, she opened her bedroom door and saw two people standing inside.

Templar was on the phone with her boyfriend who told her to grab a gun inside the room.

Her two young children were in her bedroom with her.

Templar then said to the intruders, "I don't know who you are, but get out of my house or I will shoot you." She then told WAND News they "immediately started shooting at me."

She shot back in an attempt to protect herself and her children.

She was hit twice, once in the left arm and once in the right hip.

Templar said, "I shut the door and I grabbed my kids and I go to the closet and I'm yelling at them and I'm pleading, 'Please, I'm already shot, I have kids. Please don't kill my kids.'"

Both invaders eventually left the home and Templar's boyfriend arrived at the house shortly after.

She was brought to the hospital, but neither bullet did serious damage.

Now, the mother-of-two doesn't feel comfortable going home.

"I can't feel the same in my house," Templar said. "It doesn't feel like my home anymore. I just I can't go back there and sleep there and I won't feel okay being there."

Even after being shot twice, Templar is grateful her kids are okay.

"My kids are my everything," she said. "So, in that moment, I didn't even care if I was to die. I just wanted to make sure my kids were unharmed and they were."

Decatur Police told WAND News they have no additional information and are actively investigating the break-in.