APPLE VALLEY Customers scrambled for the doors when armed robbers stormed into an Apple Valley pharmacy pointing guns and threatening people.CBS2/KCAL9’s Tom Wait obtained exclusive access to security video of Wednesday’s heist at Apple Valley Pharmacy.
The two robbers jump the counter and ambush pharmacists.
“It was very terrifying,” said one of those pharmacists, who did not want to be identified. He says there were a few seconds where he thought one of the men might use his gun.
“There was a moment, actually, when he got right on the counter. I thought he was going to shoot,” he said.
The pharmacists were told to stuff money and drugs inside bags the thieves were carrying.
All the while, one of the men pointed a gun at staffers to make sure they followed orders.
The men wanted Vicodin and other medications, but the pharmacists tricked the thieves: “We ended up giving them cough syrups, a couple of medications out of the shelves.”
The whole ordeal lasted three to four minutes.
Customers called 911 after they ran out of the pharmacy. Sheriff’s deputies responded quickly, but the suspects managed to escape.
One customer had a panic attack, but there were no serious injuries.