An East Boston store owner was pistol whipped in his own shop when two men barged in during a robbery.
Police were called to Pericol Gift Shop on Bennington Street just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday. When officers arrived they found the owner who had been beaten by the gun-totting robbers.
The owner told the officers that two men wearing all black clothing and black masks entered his store. He thought it was friends playing a joke until the men pulled a gun.
They took the man to the back, he said, where they tried to handcuff him using plastic ties. The man resisted and that’s when they pistol-whipped him.
After the beating, the men smashed the glass counters and made off with an unknown amount of men’s and women’s jewelry, police said.
The store owner was taken to Tufts Medical Center for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Anyone with information can call 617-343-4234.
Follow Michael Naughton on Twitter @metrobosmike.
