A woman in the US is claiming her love handles saved her life after surviving a near fatal shooting.



The Press of Atlantic City reports Samantha Lynn Frazier from Florida was in Atlantic City on a trip with her family when she heard a pop as she walked into a bar.



The 35-year-old and her cousin quickly ducked inside the bar, and just as she thought they were safe, that is when the pain hit.



"Something bit me," she said, putting a hand to her left side.



"I moved my hand, and it was full of blood."



"I've been shot," Frazier said just before passing out. She woke up in the trauma unit of a medical centre.



She is now recovering at her cousin's home and is upset her vacation ended prematurely.



"I come out on vacation to the world's largest playground, and I get shot," Frazier said.



"I'm just an innocent bystander."



Frazier's vacation may have been ruined, but she now has a new lease on life, and is excited about her birthday in July.



"Thank God, I'm going to be 36. I could have been dead. They said my love handles saved my life," she said.



"I'd been hollering how I want to lose weight. I don't want to lose weight anymore. I want to be as big as I can if it's going to stop a bullet."



Atlantic City Detective Charles Love confirmed Frazier was not the intended target, and says the unidentified man the shooter was aiming for escaped with a bullet hole in his down jacket.