MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- A Middle Tennessee State University student who survived a near-miss with a bullet on campus took the stand Thursday in court.

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Elizabeth Pittenger, 22, made national headlines when the contents of her purse saved her during an attempted robbery.

"It had actually gone through the seam of my purse and struck a few items, and we actually found fragments of the bullet in the bottom of my purse," Pittenger said.

Pittenger pointed out Orlando Edmiston, 20, in court as the person who assaulted her.

She then described in detail what happened, including how he tried to take her purse and fired a shot at her. She was not harmed.

"I heard the sound of the gun and just remembered being almost deaf after that," said Pittenger. "It was so close my ears were ringing. I was in shock ... I thought the worst: that I was going to die that night."

MTSU Police Chief Buddy Peaster said a calculator, umbrella and case stopped the bullet from piercing Pittenger's waist.

Edmiston is charged with attempted murder and armed robbery. Officers found the .38-caliber handgun beneath a parked van near the scene.

After the shooting, Edmiston ran off but didn't get far before MTSU Officer Leroy Carr caught him a few blocks away.

"I observed a male running towards the fire lane," Carr said.