PORTLAND (Oregon) - IT WAS not until the nurse in the emergency room lifted up a phone and said, 'We've got a gunshot victim,' that Sandra Howell understood why her arm hurt so much.

Portland police said she was wounded by a gun that discharged when a neighbour tossed it on his bed. The bullet pierced the wall separating their apartments.

Mr Howell said she woke up about 3.30am on Sunday.

'I heard a pop, and then felt the pain and burning in my arm,' the 46-year-old said.

She said she wasn't sure what had happened. She didn't see any blood.

'All I know I was screaming,' she said. 'I had no clue what had happened until I got to the hospital.'

The .38-caliber bullet had hit her in the left shoulder, traveling down her arm and lodging in her biceps.

'They told me if it might have been an inch or two over, it could have hit my head,' Ms Howell said.

She had surgery on Sunday to have the bullet removed, and returned to her Portland apartment Monday evening.

The neighbour, Alvert Prince O'Neal Jr, 45, was arrested on Monday on charges of third-degree assault, recklessly endangering another and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His next court date is Jan 16.

Police said he turned over the firearm to them on Sunday.

Ms Howell, who works in customer service in the computer industry, said she's returned home fearful and disturbed that her neighbour didn't take immediate responsibility for his actions.

'I understand he was scared, but he shot me and just left me,' she said. 'You don't just shoot people and get away with that kind of stuff.' -- AP