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Looters ransack Philly pharmacies taking money, medication
FOX 29 obtained surveillance video showing the moments a group of individuals attempted to break the lock on a pharmacy security gate and when that didn’t work, the group worked together to rip the gate off, making their way inside the pharmacy.
FAIRMOUNT - Several businesses were looted after Philadelphia police say a large group of people, including several juveniles, terrorized sections of the city during an 8-hour crime spree that began Tuesday night into the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
The looters didn’t just hit high-end retailers, like the Apple Store, seen in video obtained by FOX 29, but also local mom and pop owned pharmacies.
"About 3 o’clock this morning, I actually got a phone call from our tenants in the apartments above the pharmacy," owner of Fairmount Pharmacy, Gerald Volgraf, said.
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Fairmount Pharmacy looting
Fairmount Pharmacy ransacked by looters caught on surveillance cameras.
He says he ran out of his front door and got down to his pharmacy only to find absolute chaos. "When I got down here, the gates were ripped off, the store was mess, there was a ton of debris, a ton of damage. There were medications missing."
FOX 29 obtained surveillance video showing the moments a group of individuals attempted to break the lock on the pharmacy security gate and when that didn’t work, the group worked together to rip the gate off, making their way inside the pharmacy.
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"After 12 big pulls from 10 or 12 guys, it ripped off its tracks and my tenants heard 12 to 15 loud bangs," Volgraf described the scene.
A second surveillance video shows the perspective from inside the pharmacy. After the group broke the glass, they hopped the register, stealing about $68 and lots of prepackaged prescriptions, including refrigerated insulin.
Volgraf continued, "They were only in the pharmacy under two minutes and were able to do a tremendous amount of damage."
About three miles away, in North Philadelphia, more looters reportedly caused a lot of exterior damage to the North Philly Pharmacy. The owners did not want to comment on camera, but tell FOX 29 crucial prescriptions for AIDS and high blood pressure, were stolen.
For Volgraf, he says it’s a setback but not the end. "We opened at 9 o’clock this morning and we’ll be open 9 o’clock tomorrow. We won’t allow someone to do something like this that’s gonna break our spirit and break our commitment to the community."