EXCLUSIVE: Pauley Perrette Was 'Crying All Night' After Attack: I Believed He Was Going to Kill Me

Actress Pauley Perrette was clearly shaken up when she spoke to ET's Kevin Frazier this morning about being attacked by a homeless man near her Hollywood home.

"I've been crying all night, clearly," she told Frazier.

Early Friday morning, Perrette revealed on Twitter that she was punched repeatedly and had her life threatened by a "psychotic homeless man."

NEWS: Pauley Perrette Is 'Grateful to Be Alive' After Violent Attack by 'Psychotic Homeless Man'

"He told me he was going to kill me several times and I absolutely believed him," she recalled to ET. "I prayed as hard as I've ever prayed for anything ever in my life, and I didn't do anything. I thought, anything I do would escalate the situation -- I couldn't overcome him, he was stronger than me."

Fortunately, she got away and drew a sketch of the man she believed had assaulted her. "I took a pen and I immediately, in shock, like drew a picture of the guy, 'cause I didn't have a camera," she explained. "The guy looks exactly like the thing that I drew."

LAPD confirmed with ET they booked a 45-year-old white male suspect named David Merck on felony battery charges after arresting him at a 7-Eleven in Hollywood.

EXCLUSIVE: First Look at Pauley Perrette's Sketch of Her Alleged Attacker That Led to an Arrest

Not even a day after her attack, the 46-year-old star, who has worked with the homeless in the past, was expressing compassion for those living without a roof over their head. "[My heart] breaks for every single person that's out there on the streets," she said, "especially [those] with undiagnosed or untreated mental illness."

She also said that after being attacked, she sympathizes more with victims of crime. "I'm a criminal science major. I'm on a crime show, I'm a crime person, but what it actually feels like to be an innocent victim, a pedestrian walking down the street, and be snatched? ...I know what it feels like now and I was terrified," she explained. 

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"I'm glad I lived," she said, adding of her alleged attacker, "I'm glad he didn't kill me, but whatever, he doesn't know who I am. He doesn't know. He's mentally ill and he has no support."

Despite her traumatizing experience, Perrette plans on still fighting the good fight. "My life is about helping the homeless and, you know, creating awareness for what's going on," she said. "But every now and then, there's somebody who really is a danger to society, and that guy attacked me."