As startled patrons in a North Braddock bar tried to push an armed robber out the front door late Friday night, a second gunman reached his hand inside and sprayed bullets indiscriminately.

In the ensuing chaos, three of roughly 25 patrons inside Crud's Bar were wounded, two critically, before the robbers fled without taking any cash, Allegheny County police investigators said yesterday.

Customer William J. Loughner, 46, of North Braddock, was wounded in the head and the forearm, county police said. Investigators would not say where he was being treated but described his condition as critical.

Jeremiah Sullivan, 47, identified by police as from the East Hills area, was shot multiple times in the torso. He also was in critical condition at a local hospital investigators would not identify.

Juana Stevens, 57, of Pleasant Hills, was struck in the right foot and hospitalized in fair condition. She was in a dining area when a bullet fired from the bar apparently pierced a partition separating her from the bar.

Last night, county and North Braddock police continued their search for the gunmen, who were described as black men in their early 20s wearing dark clothing. The first, wearing a bandana over his face, entered the neighborhood bar at 1400 Brinton Ave. around 11 p.m., brandishing a pistol and demanding money, said Lt. Bill Palmer, a county homicide investigator.

"When a customer tries to intercede, the gun is put to that customer's head," he said.

Other patrons then joined in an attempt to push the suspect out the front door, but "a second individual puts his hand inside the bar. There is a gun in his hand and he opens fire," Lt. Palmer said.

Between four and six shots were fired, he said. Investigators said they believe the suspects fled in a black sedan.

County police confirmed that there was a video surveillance system in the bar but would not say if it was operating at the time of the shooting or if it would be of assistance with the investigation.