A New Zealand man who travelled to the US home of a 14-year-old girl he met online was shot by her mother after he tried to break in.

Troy George Skinner, 25, allegedly smashed a glass door and tried to enter the home in Goochland, Virginia on Friday.

Mr Skinner had bought a knife and duct tape after arriving in the US, and County sheriff James Agnew said he had “very bad intent”.

The girl’s mother saw a man trying to enter her home, warned him several times she had a gun, then fired after he broke the glass on the second door he tried to open.

Skinner was hit in the neck and remains in hospital, according to authorities, but is expected to survive.

He met the girl on video game Discord, according to reports.

It allows people to communicate with each other around the world.

Agnew said Skinner will be charged with breaking and entering with a deadly weapon with the intent to commit a serious crime.

“All I can say is the manner in which he attempted to enter that home in the face of a firearm pointed at him and the implements we recovered from him — the only inference is that he had very bad intent,” Agnew said.

Mr Skinner flew from New Zealand via Sydney, before travelling by bus to Richmond, Virginia, which is 175km south of the US capital. Images show the damage done to the house of the 14 year old girl he met online.

New Zealand police said they were aware of the incident and would be helping US authorities as needed.

New Zealand authorities say they’ve also been in contact with Skinner’s family and have offered consular assistance.

“His arrival here was totally unexpected by anyone,” Mr Agnew told the Richmond-Times Dispatch.

“I have to emphasise very clearly, that while he may be in the hospital, he is not the victim.

“The lady and her family members are the victims. “

Mr Skinner flew from New Zealand last Wednesday, with Qantas via Sydney, Los Angeles and Washington DC, before travelling by bus to Richmond, Virginia, which is 175km south of the US capital.

Police were contacted after seeing a man in black trying to break into the house.

According to reports he said he was a hitchhiker who needed help.

Local journalist Melissa J Hipolt tweeted that the pair were communicating for three or four months, and it’s unknown if their relationship was “romantic”.