Woman Attempts to Disarm Gunman With Her Purse

Tears of relief from the bravest woman in America. The gutsy grandmother who tried to disarm the deranged gunman by whacking him with her purse.

"I thought that gun was the biggest weapon I'd ever seen. We were at the mercy of this person unless a miracle occurred and we did something in the moment," said Ginger Littleton.

Littleton did something, all right. Gunman Clay Duke had ordered all the women out of the Panama City school board meeting, but 62-year-old Littleton defiantly returned to try and rescue her fellow board members.

"His back was to me, the gun was down in his hand. I sneaked up behind him, I swung the purse at his hand to whack the gun out of his hand. When he swung around and pushed me, I fell. He pointed the gun at me and said, 'You stupid (and he called me a name).' "

A fellow board member cries out to Littleton on the floor, "Ginger! No, Ginger!"

Littleton broke down crying during our interview. A delayed reaction to the shocking realization that her life could have ended, then and there.

Littleton said, "Why he didn't go ahead and shoot, I don't know. He said, 'Get out of here." "

Littleton left the room, and that's when the gunfire began.

"Somebody in the hall said, 'He's shooting! He's shooting,' " recalls Littleton.

Littleton's husband of 42 years, A.C. Littleton, couldn't believe it when he heard about his wife's heroics.

"I was upset at first because of what might have happened, but I have to feel proud that she didn't just sit around," said Littleton's husband.

Turns out, the alligator purse used by Littleton was a gift from her 89-year-old mother-in-law, Alma Dykes Littleton. Alma says she gave it to Littleton because it was too heavy to carry.

Like all true heroes, Ginger Littleton doesn't consider herself a hero. Just a good citizen, doing what she had to do.

"Knowing that these guys were so totally vulnerable, I don't think I could have walked away," said Littleton.