DETROIT — A prosecutor says a federal judge who was shot in the leg outside his Detroit home was trying to protect his family during a robbery attempt.

U. S. Attorney Barbara McQuade says the shooting of Terrence Berg doesn’t appear to be related to his work. She says he was taking out trash Thursday night when two people confronted him to try to get inside his home.

McQuade says Berg refused and was “heroic” in protecting his family.

Berg’s wife, Anita Sevier, says he will undergo surgery later today. His injury isn’t life-threatening. Nobody has been arrested.

The 55-year-old has been a judge for two years, and his court is in Flint. Berg served as a federal prosecutor for two decades, including briefly as head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit.

First Published March 6, 2015, 3:52 p.m.