BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) - A woman said her boyfriend’s neighbor pulled out a gun and shot at her while she was outside in Beverly looking for her cat last week.

Lydia Hester said she was outside her boyfriend’s condominium complex looking for her pet, when a man living in a house bordering the condo property went on the attack.

“I heard a belligerent, angry man screaming at me to get off his property,” Hester said.

Hester told 56-year-old Richard Davis she wasn’t on his property, but he then pulled a gun on her, she said.

“Something metal was hitting the ground and I was like, ‘That must be a real gun, I think someone is trying to shoot at me,'” she said.

“This man was full of rage and he gave me a five-second countdown to run for my life. He started counting down from five and said, ‘I don’t miss,'” Hester continued.

She said she then ran inside and called police.

Officers said they found a 9-millimeter Beretta pistol in Davis’ kitchen sink and two shell casings in the dirt by his porch.

Police also revealed a search of Davis’ home uncovered 13 registered guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

“His intention was to harm me and if he didn’t harm me, he sure as heck scarred me for the rest of my life,” Hester said.

Davis’ attorney told 7News his client is a family man, with no criminal record, who is concerned about homeless people in the area.

Hester said she is a changed person from the experience.

“I do not feel safe. I’m paranoid that someone is following me home or I’m paranoid that people are on the property that shouldn’t be there,” she said.

Davis is currently being held in jail. Police said they removed all firearms from his home.

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