MANCHESTER - Two men are under arrest for robbery after a convenience store customer was shot in the chest with a pellet-style gun Christmas Eve.

According to witnesses, two men attempted to rob the Stop and Go with what initially appeared to be a handgun.

A detailed description of the robbers and their clothes quickly lead police to arrests of William Eldred, 29, of Somerville, Mass., and Joseph Haywood, 27, of Manchester. Police located the men south of the store in the rear of 21 Hospital Ave.

The clerk told police the men had first tried to buy beer but did not have enough money, they returned wearing masks, brandishing a gun and demanding cash. The clerk turned over the money, police said, and a robber shot the customer in the chest. The clerk and customer were ordered to the ground and the robbers fled.

Eldred and Haywood are charged with theft and two counts of falsifying physical evidence. Haywood was arrested on unrelated warrants from Hooksett and later charged with theft.

Eldred was initially arrested for disorderly conduct when he became belligerent, shouted obscenities and caused a disturbance in a crowded neighborhood.

During booking, a CO2 cartridge was found on Eldred. According to police, his belligerence continued with threats to kill police officers and resisting efforts to contain him in a cell. Eldred was Tasered by police and charged with criminal threatening.

A search at Haywood's 13 Hospital Ave. residence revealed BB pellets discarded in a toilet bowl and clothing e in a washing machine consistent with the descriptions provided at the scene.