An elderly woman fended off a would-be robber brandishing what appeared to be a toy gun Friday afternoon in Andalusia.

Lt. Paul Dean of the Andalusia Police Department said the police are searching for a black male who allegedly tried to rob the woman of her purse in the parking lot of the River Falls Street Dollar General Store.

“We got the call a little after 3 p.m. that the woman had managed to fend him off, but he fled on foot,” Dean said. “We don’t have a good description – a black male wearing dark clothes – because it happened so fast.”

Dean said the woman, who was unidentified, was unscathed during the incident.

“And she kept her purse,” he said.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact the APD at 222-1155.