Report: Druggist Fired On Fleeing Robber Following Pharmacy Holdup
BELLMORE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A druggist who bought a gun after getting spooked by a string of bloody pharmacy robberies on Long Island fired a shot at a fleeing bandit during yet another medication heist.
Nassau County police say the robbery happened at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Bellmore.
Police say 43-year-old Marc Gumpert, entered a pharmacy and demanded Ritalin and the painkiller Dilaudid.
The pharmacist complied, but followed the robber outside.
Police say the bandit pulled a knife. The pharmacist fired once, hitting the ground and the suspect's car.
Pharmacist Fires On Fleeing Robber At LI Drug Store
Some local residents supported the pharmacist's decision to fire his licensed firearm at the fleeing robbery suspect.
"They should arm themselves, everyone should arm themselves, and then maybe the criminals would think twice about entering a store," Andy Oppenheimer told 1010 WINS reporter Carol D'Auria.
The vehicle, a 2001 Nissan Maxima, was later observed by an ambulance driver on Sunrise Highway in Freeport. Police responded to the area, found the suspect, and arrested him without incident.
Bail for Gumpert was set at $250,000.
In 2011, five people died during two pharmacy robberies in Medford and Seaford.
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