Man shot in Carolina Forest armed robbery attempt

A 20-year-old man reported being shot in an armed robbery attempt in the Carolina Forest area last week.

Horry County police were called to Grand Strand Medical Center where the victim was being treated for a gunshot wound to his right hand, authorities said.

The victim said the incident happened about 1 a.m. Feb. 15 near the intersection of Carolina Forest Boulevard and Tuckahoe Drive, police said.

The victim told police he was walking down the street toward U.S. 501 along Carolina Forest Boulevard when an unknown man wearing dark clothing approached him as he neared Tuckahoe Drive, according to a police report.

He said the man appeared out of the wood line and was wearing a dark green scarf covering his face and armed with a handgun.

The victim said the suspect ran up to him pointing the handgun toward his face and yelling, “Empty your pockets,” according to the report.

“Wow, wow hold up,” the victim said, and the suspect repeated “Empty your pockets,” and added “before you get shot,” the report states.

The victim said he began sliding to the right of the suspect, who was moving closer and pointing the gun toward his face, police said.

The victim slapped the gun downward and it fired when he did then fell to the ground. The suspect grabbed the gun and ran down Tuckahoe Drive, authorities said.

The victim realized he had been shot after walking back home and treated the wound himself. He said he wasn’t planning on going to the hospital, but his mother, who is an emergency room nurse, persuaded him otherwise, police said.

The victim told authorities the suspect was trying to conceal an accent as he spoke.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Man shot in Carolina Forest armed robbery attempt."