Man fails in attempt to rob East Side store

YOUNGSTOWN — Reports said a would-be robber brandishing what looked like a gun fled about 8:50 p.m. Monday from an 1833 Oak St. store on the East Side.

An employee told police the man came up and demanded money. When she closed the drawers of the cash register, he pulled a gun.

The employee told police she thought the gun was fake, but when police asked her why she thought that, she said she just thought it was fake.

When the employee picked up a phone, the man ran out the door toward Shehy Street, reports said.