Cops: Man shot in Hempstead street robbery

Police are searching for two men, armed with a handgun, who shot a man in the knee during an attempted street robbery in Hempstead just after midnight on Wednesday.

The victim, in his early 20s, sustained what Nassau County police described as "non-life-threatening" injuries when he was shot in a parked car.

One of the victims suffered a contusion of his eye -- after a suspect struck him in the face with a handgun, police said. Police said the third man in the car was not injured.

The incident occurred at 12:01 a.m. Thursday in a parking lot on Front Street. During the attempted robbery, police said, two shots were fired, one striking the victim -- the other lodged in a seat.

Police said the robbers had demanded the trio turn over their cellphones, but that the victims "refused and resisted."

The victim who was shot was taken to a hospital for treatment by private car.

Police ask anyone with information about the robbery to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.