Police say a woman was attacked early Wednesday afternoon while praying inside St. Joseph?s Church in Middletown.

The monsignor says the victim had a journal and a pen with her inside the chapel. She wanted to write down her thoughts as she prayed. Police say instead of using her pen for peaceful prayer, she was forced to use it to fight off her attacker.

?She chose to fight him with the weapon that she had,? Middletown Police Chief Matt Byrne said. ?A pen can quickly turn into a weapon. And we're thankful that she had it with her.?

Police also said a security camera caught the suspect on tape, and they hope it will lead to an arrest.