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Pittsburgh police: Man kidnapped, stripped as men decided whether to let him live
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A man in Pittsburgh's Sheraden neighborhood told detectives men in a van kidnapped him and stripped him naked as they weighed whether to kill him Thursday afternoon, police said today.
Police said a man in his 20s was walking on Hammond Street about 5 p.m. when a red van pulled up and a passenger aimed a gun at him, ordering him to get inside.
The van's four occupants demanded he strip naked and rifled through his clothes before they started discussing plans to kill him behind a library, police said.
They headed in that direction but stopped because there were too many people around, police said.
The man saw officers making a traffic stop nearby, police said. He unlocked the door and jumped out of the van on Hillsboro Street, rolling into the street, police said.
The van sped away and the man, in his underwear, flagged down an officer saying he had been robbed, police said.
Detectives believe the man did not know his assailants. The man was cut and bruised but otherwise not seriously hurt, police said.
Police are searching for three men and urged anyone with information to call the Zone 6 plainclothes detectives at 412-937-3095.
First Published July 13, 2012 1:41 pm
