Police: Would-be robber beaten with baseball bat, shot

(Florida Today) - A 20-year-old man was beaten with a baseball bat and shot several times during a botched Christmas Eve home-invasion robbery in Melbourne, police said.

The suspect, Nathaniel James Clay, was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center with severe injuries after the 9:40 p.m. incident at a house in the 2800 block of Colbert Circle.

Detectives are searching for two male accomplices. Both eluded a police search involving K-9 dogs and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office helicopter, reports show.

Here's what police said happened: Clay and his two accomplices - one of whom was armed with a handgun - forced their way into the back door of the home.

They were confronted by a resident, and Clay was struck several times with a baseball bat. The armed robber tried to shoot the resident - but instead, he inadvertently shot Clay several times in his lower extremities.

All three suspects fled out the back door, but Clay collapsed in the backyard. The other two suspects left him behind and escaped.

Clay will be charged with home invasion robbery upon release from the hospital, Lt. Heath Sanders said.

Colbert Circle is located off University Boulevard, just north of Lipscomb Park.

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