This is the moment when a bungling crook robbing a watch shop shoots a terrified hostage, with the bullet passing straight through her arm and lodging in her buttock.

A security camera caught the drama as it unfolded inside Relojoaria a Suissa in a shopping centre in Sao Vicente, Sao Paulo State, Brazil on 13th November.

Footage from the watch shop’s vault room shows how an armed crook holds three workers hostage and forces them to help him carry out the heist.

But – apparently by accident – he can be seen discharging his handgun, hitting a terrified worker crouching on the floor.

Her boyfriend, Jonatas Bastos, later told local media the bullet had passed through the 21-year-old’s arm and lodged in her right buttock.

She was taken by paramedics to a local hospital for treatment before being transferred to another facility in Santos.

She was later discharged with the bullet still inside her, as it was allegedly too difficult for medics to safely remove.

She will have to return to hospital for further tests, local media said.

During the shooting, the crook’s three accomplices had been holding others hostage in the front part of the shop.

One customer is said to have been with her baby at the time.

Following the shooting, the four crooks fled.

No arrests had been made at the time of reporting, but the gunman has reportedly been identified.

Police are investigating the case, and Brisamar Shopping has said it is cooperating with the investigation.