Police in New York have revealed that a woman shot at close range during an robbery survived after a bullet was slowed down by her purse.

Officers said a man ran up to the 39-year-old woman on a street in Brooklyn and demanded that he hand over her car keys. When she fought back, the man fired at her with a pistol.

The Daily News said the bullet passed through the woman’s purse, wallet and clothes, but stopped short of hitting her body. The man than attacked her with the handgun and stole her car.

Police later found him nearby in the vehicle and arrested him on attempted murder charges. He has been named as 52-year-old Victor Walker, who has been released on bail.