Robbers grab drugs,
wound clerk

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying three masked robbers who shot a clerk and stole more than $8,000 worth of drugs from a Northeast Philadelphia pharmacy on Sunday morning.
The wounded cashier, a 23-year-old woman, survived pellet wounds to her face and arm. She was treated at a local hospital and released on the same day as the robbery.
The episode began at 10:39 a.m. when four men pulled up to the front of the Rite-Aid, at 4018 Woodhaven Road, in a dark Cadillac, said Lt. Mark Burgmann of Northeast Detectives.
Three of the suspects left the vehicle wearing masks and gloves and burst into the store. One of the men carried a shotgun and another a handgun.
The men locked one door, but left another open as they rounded up several employees and patrons near the checkout counter.
At one point, one of the men ordered the victims to "stand back" and then fired a shotgun shell into the floor. Pellets ricocheted and struck the female cashier.
Undaunted, the robbers forced everyone into a back room. As unknowing patrons entered the unlocked front door, they, too, were forced to the rear.
The bandits used plastic wire ties to bound about eight employees and patrons while they forced the pharmacist to open a drug safe.
The suspects dumped the prescription pills into a plastic bag and fled out a rear door into the waiting Cadillac, with the getaway driver at the wheel.
No cash was taken from the store.
The car was black or dark in color and a 1990s four-door model.
All three robbers were black.
One was described as 6 feet 3 inches tall and heavy. He wore a black jacket with gray shoulders and carried the shotgun.
A second crook was described as wearing a black jacket, mask and gloves, while a third suspect was about 5 feet 9 inches tall and had a green jacket, black mask and brown gloves.
Call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153 to report information about the heist. ••