The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 2, 2012

Home invaders rob, shoot man

By Courtney L. Saylor Herald Staff Writer

SHARON — Five men wearing masks on Wednesday night barged into a Sharon home and robbed and shot a man.

Sharon police Chief Mike Menster said a 31-year-old man was playing video games at 7:50 p.m. in his living room at 778 S. Oakland Ave. when the door was forced open and five men entered the living room.

Each of the robbers was wearing a partial, plastic Halloween-type mask covering the top half of their face. One had a shotgun and the other four each had a handgun, Menster said.

They demanded money and the one with the shotgun hit the resident in the head with the butt of his gun, cutting his head. Menster said the victim gave the robbers about $50 and a small amount of marijuana, then one of the robbers ran upstairs to where the victim’s girlfriend and 1-year-old child were and demanded money from her.

Then the victim decided to go after the man with the shotgun, grabbing the gun, and during the struggle one of the other robbers fired one shot and hit the victim in the abdomen, Menster said.

The bullet entered and exited the man’s abdomen and after the gunshot the five men ran out of the house and were seen heading north on Oakland and then west on Morrison Street, Menster said.

The man who was shot was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown for treatment. Menster said his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Police did not release the name of the victim.

Menster said the robber didn’t harm the woman or baby and didn’t get any money.

The only description of the men was that they were all African-American and were wearing masks, police said.

The motive for the shooting appears to be robbery and Menster said the crime is similar to a shooting two weeks ago about a block away.

Police were called at 3:22 p.m. Oct. 18 to the 700 block of Spruce Avenue after a 44-year-old man was shot in the upper chest. Two men with handguns had come through an unlocked front door and demanded money.

The victim told them he didn’t have any, one of them shot him once and they then went through his pockets and took $200 to $300.

Police were looking for a black, newer model Chevrolet Impala with Ohio plates related to the robbery and described the robbers as both thin, black men with light complexions and in their 20s.

Menster said these two most recent shootings do not appear to be related to two others earlier last month.

A 37-year-old Farrell man was shot in the arm early Oct. 12 in a parking lot in the 100 block of North Sharpsville Avenue.

Police have said that shooting could be related to the Oct. 3 shooting of two men, ages 47 and 20, in the 500 block of Emerson Avenue in Farrell.

Southwest Mercer County Regional Police have not released any information about the Farrell shooting in the last month.

No one has been charged in any of the three Sharon shootings and police are looking for help identifying anyone involved in all of the incidents.

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