NATIONAL CITY

Elderly Woman Pistol-Whipped, Kidnapped from National City Church

Police are searching for two men who fled on foot in the 1400 block of East 8th Street in National City on Monday night

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Police are asking for the public's help finding a pair of men who viciously attacked an elderly woman in a National City house of worship, then abducted her and brought her on a bizarre journey that ended a short distance away from where the crime spree began.

The situation began to unfold on Monday in the 1300 block of East 8th Street when two men confronted the 76-year-old victim at gunpoint while she was inside the International Church of Praise, which is located in a small strip mall away from the street. After pistol-whipping the woman in the face, the suspects forced her into her car, which was parked just outside the church, then demanded she drive them to her home in San Diego for unknown reasons.

Then, without entering the residence, the unknown men ordered the woman to return to National City, where she ended up driving to another strip mall, this one also on East 8th Street, but in the 1400 block. The victim was able to escape on foot when the suspects got out of the car, and she sought refuge at one of the businesses nearby.

Police said her attackers then fled on foot, and the woman called the police shortly before 9 p.m. Officers arrived shortly afterward, as did paramedics, who treated her at the scene.

The men are being sought by police, who want anybody with information about the incident to call 619-336-4460. Tips can also be called in anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

The attack in National City was the second shocking incident in a church in a week in San Diego County. On Tuesday, a woman was sexually assaulted at the Summit Point Church in Mira Mesa by a man she had let inside to use the restroom. The suspect in that case was arrested for elder abuse and assault with intent to commit rape, according to San Diego Police.

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