In a stunning show of luck, fate, and perhaps stupid courage, a Elizabeth Pittenger, a Middle Tennessee State University Student, is alive today. Surprisingly enough, she has her purse to thank for that.

Pittenger's life was saved by her large handbag, which carried the "necessities of life," Today reports.

Perhaps breaking one of the cardinal rules of getting mugged, Pittenger decided not to let 20-year-old get what he wanted. So in what she calls an "adrenaline rush," she fought back when he pointed a .38 pistol at her head and demanded her property.

After finally getting her phone, the assailant raised his gun and fired one shot before taking off. Fortunately, the shot notified campus police, who responded immediately and apprehended the suspect and the .38 he had tried to discard.

Once they made sure Pittenger was alright, she looked in her purse and couldn't believe her eyes:

“The first thing I pulled out was actually a calculator that a friend had let me borrow,” she told Lauer. “It was completely destroyed from the bullet; also an umbrella and a sunglass case had taken the bullet as well. Fragments of the bullet were in the bottom of my purse.”

Pittenger had borrowed the calculator she was carrying from a friend. That’s when the realization struck Pittenger: “It could have been me instead of the purse. It’s a scary feeling.”

An inspection of the bag showed a hole in the end where the bullet entered it.

 

Pittenger now jokes that she should keep a kevlar cup in there. Either way, she's a lucky girl.

While I applaud Pittenger's courage, and am happy she is fine, she is lucky to be alive. I remind my fellow Trojans (especially considering where we live) that authorities say if you are getting mugged you should never, ever fight back. That Gucci purse is replaceable. You are not.