A teenager tells 11 News he was just trying to protect his family when he bravely fought off a man with a knife, who had broken into his home early Sunday morning.

This happened near East Fountain Boulevard and South Academy Boulevard.

Jerry Hernandez, 15, is known to his family as "Junior," and was home with two younger nieces and a nephew while his aunt was at work early Sunday morning. He told us the crook broke in through a back door, which doesn't always lock properly.

"Once you feel you locked it up, it's never really locked. You can budge it a little bit and it'll straight up open," Hernandez said.

Junior said the burglar told him to hand over jewelry and money. When he refused, the man pulled out a knife. He says the criminal lunged at him with it, just barely missing him, cutting his shirt.

"He tried to stab me, and I went like that [mimics movement] and moved away, and he got me in my shirt and tried to run, and I grabbed him and threw him on the ground...I was trying to fight him off," Hernandez said.

After the two fought, the attacker ran out of the house and over the fence. Junior said they're working on getting that lock fixed.

This close call is a reminder to us all how possible it is to find ourselves unexpectedly in harm's way. To find a couple of ways we can all protect ourselves, we went to a hardware store and for just $.85, bought a piece of wood (that most stores will cut to size for you for free). Simply place it on the back side of a sliding glass door or window to prevent crooks from getting in.

If you want to go a different route, we found window and door alarms that were less than $15 for a pack of two. The alarm will go off anytime that window or door is opened.

Police say the man they’re looking for is a white man in his thirties, standing 6-foot-1 with a slim build. The man was wearing a dark sweatshirt and blue jeans. Police tried to use K-9 units to track the man, but could not pick up a trail.

If you think you know anything about this case, you can call police at 444-7000, or Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP to remain anonymous.