A 49-year-old man told Myrtle Beach police he was struck from behind and searched as he walked home early Tuesday during a robbery attempt, according to a police report.

The victim told officers he was walking home from a Kangaroo store at 1405 S. Kings Highway when at 4 a.m. Tuesday two men, who were dressed in dark clothing, hit him from behind knocking him to the ground, police said.

The victim said the men searched his pockets and demanded money before they realized the victim did not have any money and they ran away, according to the report. The victim walked back to the store and called police and his parents.

The clerk told officers the victim had not been in the store prior to the incident and that he did not give the victim the towel he used to hold over his face, which was swollen and cut, according to the report.

Officers noted in the report that the clerk’s statements “seem to contradict the victim stating he was assaulted in the street after leaving the gas station and then coming straight back” to use the phone because he could not find the battery for his cell phone.

The case is under investigation and the victim was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center for treatment.