Man, 77, Hit on Head by Would-Be Robber

A 77-year-old man was treated for minor injuries after being attacked in front of his home during an attempted robbery Thursday night, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The victim, whose name was not released, came outside about 8:45 p.m. because he heard a noise and saw the dome light on in his wife’s car, Sheriff’s Lt. Fred Lisanti said. A man wearing a ski mask--who investigators think may have been breaking into the car--came forward and demanded money, Lisanti said. When the victim refused and shouted for help, the man hit him on the head with a blunt object and drove away from the house, in the 600 block of Sea Breeze Avenue.

“That’s a very quiet area,” Lisanti said of the neighborhood, which had no reported crime for a year before Thursday’s attack. “It is unusual.”

The victim’s wife drove him to Columbia San Clemente Hospital and Medical Center, where he was treated and released, authorities said. A helicopter search of the area turned up no sign of the attacker, Lisanti said.