MERRIMACK — A would-be robber was confronted by a homeowner with a handgun on Monday morning during an attempted home invasion in the center of town.

Police have released a composite sketch of the intruder, who quickly fled the residence following the confrontation.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, the male intruder kicked open a locked apartment door at 429 Daniel Webster Highway, Unit 3 of a multifamily home. A female resident was awakened and retrieved a handgun that was kept nearby, according to police.

“In the seconds following the initial forced entry, the intruder made his way to the victim’s bedroom door and was confronted by the female who warned the intruder by pointing the weapon at him and demanding he leave immediately,” Det. Scott Park said in a release, adding the robber fled on foot.

According to police, the intruder was apparently looking for someone, and had knocked on several other doors in the apartment building before kicking in the door to Unit 3.

A neighbor told police that the man appeared to have been outside for a while because he was “kind of messy in appearance,” says the release.

The female resident, along with another tenant of the apartment, provided authorities with a description of the intruder He is believed to be a male Caucasian between the ages of 25 and 35 with a medium build and medium height. Witnesses believe he has brown eyes and weighs between 175 and 200 pounds.

“The person involved is not as clean cut as the sketch shows,” stressed police.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident, or anyone who may have been passing by the gray apartment building around the time of the crime to call police at 424-2424 or 424-3774.