Man mistook shovel attack for gunshot

A man who told police he was shot in the head during a botched drug deal on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio, was actually struck with a shovel, according to police reports.

Initial reports from Cleveland police said the 49-year-old man drove himself to the hospital after he was shot at about 11:30pm on Monday. The man said that he drank alcohol and smoked crack and marijuana prior to the incident.



He met two drug dealers in front of an apartment to buy marijuana. He then told the dealers he wanted to buy from someone else. A fight broke out between the man and the dealers, one of whom hit the man in the eye with a shovel. The dealers took the man's wallet.

The man heard a loud pop and thought he was shot. He drove himself to Euclid Hospital and was taken by helicopter to MetroHealth. Doctors treated him for a serious eye injury and cuts on his hands. The man didn't know the attackers' names. He told detectives he knew one of them as "Papa." Police are investigating.