Cops: Boy, 6, struck during home invasion

Suspects in an armed home invasion robbery in Island Park pistol-whipped three of the four residents inside the home Wednesday night, including a 6-year-old boy, Nassau County police said.

Police said the boy was struck one time on the head with a gun but did not require medical attention.

One 25-year-old woman inside the home on Kildare Road suffered abrasions to the head and wrist and was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, police said. A 17-year-old boy also was struck "several times" on the head with a gun by one suspect, police said. He refused medical attention. A fourth person inside the home, identified only as a 29-year-old woman, was not injured, according to the report.

Police said the incident occurred at about 10:40 p.m.

Police said that when the 25-year-old woman opened a side door to the home, four men, all dressed in black and wearing black masks and armed with handguns, rushed into the house. When the woman attempted to run up a flight of stairs, police said, she was struck on the head with a gun. Next, police said, the 17-year-old boy was "forced to the ground" and struck several times in the head with a gun. The robbers then rifled the teen's pockets, taking a cell phone, police said. Police said the foursome then broke down the door to a bedroom where the 29-year-old woman and 6-year-old boy were hiding -- and said one of the gunmen struck the boy in the head with his gun. The robbers then fled, taking two rings and the cell phone.

Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding the robbery to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential, police said.