Man sets up date on Facebook, ends up being assaulted

YOUNGSTOWN — A man told police someone tried to rob him early Saturday morning after he arranged for a woman he met on Facebook to come to his home.

Police were called to the home in the in the 400 block of Breaden Street on the South Side about 5:45 a.m. for a possible shooting or robbery.

When they arrived, a man who lives there said a woman he knows from Facebook asked several hours earlier if someone was awake. The victim answered her post, and the two then began exchanging messages.

Reports said the victim told police the woman wanted him to come to her house, but the victim does not have a car, so after several hours of negotiations, the woman agreed to come to his house.

When an SUV arrived, however, a man was inside with a gun, and the woman inside the SUV did not fit the description of the picture of the woman who the victim thought he was chatting with online.

Reports said the man with the gun tried to force his way inside, but the victim would not let him in because the victim’s daughter was there. The gunman then hit the victim in the face with the gun. The victim rolled off the porch, ran away and used his cellphone to call 911.

The SUV was gone when police arrived.

The victim had ripped clothes and blood coming out of his nose, but reports said he declined medical treatment because he told officers he had to go to work.