Cops: Hempstead man robs 2 men, accidentally shoots self in leg

A Hempstead man was scheduled to be arraigned at his hospital bedside Sunday after Nassau County police said he accidentally shot himself while running from two people he had robbed.

Police said two men, aged 39 and 44, were sitting in a 1994 Lexus on Wellesley Street at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday when Brandon Swopes, 23, approached the car.

Swopes opened a car door and showed the men a handgun before demanding their property, police said. Swopes then hit the 39-year-old victim in the face with the gun several times, then took a cellphone and cash before running east on Wellesley Street, police said.

As he ran, he tried to put the gun in his waistband, but pulled the trigger, striking himself in the right leg, police said.

Hempstead Village police investigated and arrested Swopes on nearby Remsen Avenue. He was charged with four counts of robbery, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of criminal use of a firearm.

Swopes received non-life-threatening injuries and will be arraigned at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, where he is being treated.

The 39-year-old victim was taken to a hospital for treatment and released. Police recovered the stolen property and a 9 mm handgun.