Man pistol-whipped, gun discharges

YOUNGSTOWN — Police are looking for three men believed to have beaten a 54-year-old man in the head with a pistol Saturday afternoon on the city’s North Side, before running off with his money.

The victim had not been identified by police on Saturday evening. Officers said he was visiting his girlfriend, who is staying in the YWCA building on Rayen Avenue.

According to officers at the scene, the man was sitting on the steps of an apartment building on Phelps Street across from the YWCA when three men approached him and demanded his money. Officers said when the man refused, one of the attackers took out a gun and began beating the man in the head with the weapon.

Police said the gun discharged while the attacker was striking the man. No one was shot, however.

The men ran to a car parked close by and drove off after taking the victim’s money.

For more, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com