Robber shoots self in foot

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

A masked man who shot himself in the foot with a sawed-off shotgun during a robbery attempt in Jersey City's Greenville section Saturday is being sought by police.

Officers responding to Claremont and Mallory avenues at 9:30 p.m. spoke to a 17-year-old Bergen Avenue boy who said he and a friend were at the corner when two masked men, one on a bike and the other on foot, approached them, reports said.

The man on foot exposed a sawed-off shotgun "from the right side of his pants" and the man on the bike took out a handgun, reports said.

The shotgun-wielding robber rifled through their pockets, reports said.

When he discovered the 17-year-old had no money, he shoved the barrel of the shotgun into the back of the boy's neck with such force it cut the boy, reports said.

But the victim told police that when the man stepped back and lowered the shotgun he accidentally shot himself in the foot, reports said.

MICHAELANGELO CONTE