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Handbag saves US student from gunshot
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-13 10:37

 An American student has been saved by her handbag after it stopped a bullet fired during an attempted robbery.

Elizabeth Pittenger, 22, was walking to her car on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University when a man confronted her and demanded her bag, mobile phone and laptop.

She managed to fight him off but he fired a shot before fleeing. The bullet was found inside the bag, along with a calculator, umbrella and small case that had been punctured. Pittenger was not injured.

Police nearby heard the gunshot and arrested Orlando Edmiston, 20. Officers found a .38 calibre handgun beneath a parked van.

Edmiston was charged with attempted murder, attempted armed robbery and possession of a weapon on school property. He is being held at the Rutherford County jail on $32,500 bond.

In August of this year, there were reports of a super handbag, called the Power Purse, which uses solar panels to absorb the sun's rays and turn them directly into electricity.

Those lucky enough to have one will be able to plug in their mobile phone, iPod or camera and charge them while they carry them around.

The black rectangular bag, which needs two hours of full sunlight to charge a mobile phone battery, uses laminated solar panels made of photovoltaic film to convert sunlight into electricity. Power is then transmitted to a circuit connected to two batteries hidden in the lining of the bag and to a USB port.

Most small devices can be charged, including mobile phones, cameras, BlackBerrys and personal organisers.

The handbag is due to go on sale online by the end of this year.