Fort Worth police have released surveillance videos and images to the public in hopes of identifying four people who broke into a pharmacy and stole thousands of dollars worth of prescription medications last week.
The burglary happened at Forest Park Pharmacy on Tuesday, May 7, just after 1 a.m. near the 2400 block of Forest Park Boulevard.
Police said four people wearing masks arrived at the pharmacy in a dark-colored, possibly black, four-door Chevrolet and approached the entrance with sledgehammers and crowbars.
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Officers reported that one of the burglars used a sledgehammer to break the front glass door. The group then entered the building and began stealing medications, which were estimated to be over $10,000 worth of products.
The burglars fled the pharmacy in the car, and Fort Worth officers said they found a pharmacy container about a mile away in the 2200 block of Mistletoe Avenue.
Authorities said the first burglar was a man between 18 and 25, standing about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 175 pounds. He was dressed in a black Reebok hooded jacket, jeans, and a black ski mask and was armed with a sledgehammer.
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The second burglar was also between 18 and 25, standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. The person was wearing a black hoodie, ski mask, pants, gloves, and black Air Jordans, and was armed with a crowbar. Their gender and race were not known.
The third person was armed with a crowbar and wore black clothing, including a jacket, ski mask, and sweatpants. The person was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 180 pounds. The suspect also wore orange gloves, but their race and gender were unknown.
The fourth person was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 190 pounds. The person was armed with a sledgehammer and wore a black hoodie, black ski mask, gray gloves, and white Nike tennis shoes. Their gender and race were unknown.
Brad Hart and his wife Glenda own Forest Park Pharmacy. Running a small business has been challenging until last month.
That’s when several of Hart’s TikTok videos went viral, including one about the cost of a generic cancer drug.
“So on TikTok, that video got like five million views,” Hart said. “And that was huge for our business.”
Hart told NBC 5 that the extra attention online also raised some red flags.
“I saw a comment in one of our videos that said that there was somebody in your parking lot scoping the place out,” Hart said. “And I just ignored it at the time because nothing had happened. This was before the break-in.”
Then came the moment captured on surveillance footage: Fort Worth police said at 1 a.m. on May 7, four people used sledgehammers to smash their way inside the pharmacy.
Once inside, police said the suspects stole $10,000 worth of highly controlled drugs, including oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall.
“They came in blacked-out hoodies, masks, gloves, and shoes, and they knew exactly what they were looking for,” Hart said.
The pharmacy’s owner said his wife had left the store only an hour before the robbery, and it could have been worse.
But following the incident, they’ve been left with huge expenses to get their store back on track.
“We don’t have $10,000, so that’s going to take a while to build back up,” Hart said. “And then, like I said, we’re going to have another $20,000 in security.”
Hart said it would also take time to restock the drugs that were stolen, hurting the patients who need them.
He told NBC 5 that he hoped the people behind the theft would quickly be brought to justice so he could focus on keeping the pharmacy’s doors open.
“It’s going to be double shifts at all times and trying to stay on top of the business so we don’t fall too far behind,” Hart said.
Anyone with information about the burglars' identities or the case is asked to call Detective Dunn at 817-392-4178. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477.