Calgary, AB,
17
June
2022
|
11:29
America/Denver

Police seek public assistance in identifying suspects connected to pharmacy robberies

 We are asking for the public’s help to identify two unknown suspects believed to be responsible for multiple pharmacy robberies earlier this week.

Investigators believe the suspects could be youth, and in multiple occurrences, the suspects verbally threatened store staff with a firearm. Given the serious nature of these crimes, we are releasing images of the suspects in hopes of quickly identifying them.

At approximately 9 a.m., Wednesday, June 15, 2022, two unknown suspects attended the Pharmasave located at 805 Edmonton Trail N.E., where they threatened staff with a firearm. Staff and customers were not physically harmed. When the attempt to obtain money or narcotics was unsuccessful, they fled the area on foot.

Less than an hour later, it is believed the same individuals attended another Pharmasave located at 11 Hidden Creek Drive N.W., where they attempted to gain entry into the safe but were unsuccessful and fled the area.

At approximately 10:15 a.m., it is believed the suspects then attended an IDA pharmacy located at 6213 Centre Street North, where they threatened employees with a firearm before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash and narcotics. No one was physically injured during the confrontation, however, these types of events are extremely traumatizing for the victims involved and we are working to identify those responsible for the robberies.

It is also believed that the same suspects are connected to additional robberies that occurred on Tuesday, June 14, and yesterday, Thursday, June 16. 

Photos of the suspects are available on the City of Calgary Newsroom.

“Pharmacists provide essential services to Calgarians and the level of violence that we are seeing in these robberies is unacceptable,” says Staff Sergeant Rod Harbidge of the Calgary Police Service Robbery Unit. “We remain dedicated to thoroughly investigating these disturbing and concerning incidents. We believe the same two suspects are connected to this recent series of robberies and once they are located and in custody, occurrences are expected to decline. In the meantime, we continue to work with pharmacy owners and employees to implement crime prevention recommendations.”

In addition, pharmacy owners and employees are encouraged to:

  • Trust your instincts. If you witness suspicious behaviour, contact police.
  • Minimize the amount of cash and drugs readily available on site.
  • Keep safes locked at all times.
  • Utilize a panic alarm for employees.
  • Place height strip tape on the interior side of the main entrance door.
  • Keep any doors separating the pharmacy from the store locked.
  • CCTV Tips:
    • Test your cameras to make sure they are working.
    • Ensure the quality of the image(s) is sufficient for identifying suspects.
    • Have purposeful focus.
    • Position at least one camera to have a level line of sight of patrons.
    • Ensure staff can access video content at any time and if possible, move the video to a cloud-based storage. After an event, this footage will be required as soon as possible for descriptions.
  • If a robbery occurs, call 9-1-1 immediately and lock the doors to the premise after the offender leaves to preserve evidence until police arrive.

Citizens can support crime prevention and the reporting of crimes in the following ways:

  • Be aware of your surroundings when shopping and take note of suspicious behaviour.
  • If you are a customer at a store where you see suspicious activity, specifically individuals behind employee counters that look out of place, heavily concealed persons running out of stores, or if you believe a crime is occurring, make sure you are in a safe place to notify staff, or contact police, and if necessary, remain to provide witness information.

Anyone with information about these incidents, or the individuals involved, is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers through any of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
APP: P3 Tips

Pharmacy robbery suspect_1
Pharmacy suspect_2
Pharmacy robbery suspects