Man, 22, critical after beating near Newark

A 22-year-old man is in critical condition after being beaten Friday while inside a car in the parking lot of a Food Lion grocery store near Newark, police said.

Two men approached the vehicle around 6:15 p.m. Friday in the lot of the Pencader Plaza shopping center at 907 S. Chapel St., according to a preliminary investigation. They opened the front, passenger side door, confronted the victim, and one of the men began punching him in the head and upper body, police said. After the assault, the suspects drove off in a white SUV, police said.

A 57-year-old woman, who was in the car with the victim, left the lot with the victim, who became unresponsive from injuries, police said. She called 911 and drove to the Royal Farms on Old Baltimore Pike, where she was met by state troopers and EMTs, who performed CPR on the victim. He was taken by ambulance to Christiana Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition, police said. The woman was uninjured.

The suspects are described as two men ages 20 to 25 and 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with average builds, police said. Detectives believe the attack was not a random act, and that the victim was targeted. State police are continuing to investigate.