MANCHESTER - Three assailants zapped a man with a stun gun and pistol-whipped him when he fought back in a robbery attempt Tuesday night behind Beechmont Market.

Police learned of the incident in an 11:40 p.m. call from the emergency room at the Elliot Hospital where the 21-year-old man sought treatment for head and chest injuries.

He told investigators he parked behind the 609 S. Beech St. market about an hour earlier and went into the store. When he came out and headed back to his car, he said three men attacked him. One put a stun gun to the side of his neck, charging it several times, which knocked him off his feet.

He tried to fight back and another man hit him in the head with the butt of a handgun.

During the assault, the man said the robbers were demanding his belongings and trying to pull off a gold chain he had around his neck. They fled without getting anything, however, apparently startled by the man's girlfriend who was in the parked car and, seeing the attack, got out to help.

The robbers are described as heavyset white men in their 20s, each about 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9. They fled in a maroon, four-door hatchback with Massachusetts license plates.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 668-8711. Anonymous tips for cash rewards may be made through Manchester Crimeline at 624-4040 or online at manchestercrimeline.org.