PATERSON, N.J. (WABC) – Imagine having to call your local pharmacy to pick up a prescription.
That’s the reality for customers at Mort Jacobs Pharmacy in Paterson after the store had five fatal accidents in a year.
At 4 o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, thieves broke the front glass door of the pharmacy.
Last year there were two more burglaries and two armed robberies.
Mort Jacobs Pharmacy is not alone in these attacks. Other Paterson pharmacies were targeted.
Antonio Rodriguez, owner of Tony’s Pharmacy, says they’ve had three armed robberies in the past year.
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In June, one suspect stole two bottles of cough medicine. In December, $300 worth of drugs were stolen. And on Friday, according to Rodriguez, the same man entered with his partner.
Surveillance video caught the moment when one of the suspects fired a shot while the other raided a box of drugs.
After the second robbery, Rodriguez installed a lock on his gate, but on Friday the thieves shot into the ceiling and demanded the gate be unlocked.
In total, they took a couple hundred dollars in cash, as well as Percocet and OxyContin.
In addition to those robberies, security footage also captured the moment the three suspects unsuccessfully tried to saw their way through the steel back door at Tony’s Pharmacy.
“My family, everybody wants me out of the business,” Rodriguez said. “My staff unfortunately have to work to pay their school bills to be able to live. They come, but they come to work nervous.”
International Drugs Pharmacy was broken into Sunday, marking the third pharmacy robbed in Paterson since December.
In a statement, Paterson’s mayor said, “I am deeply concerned about the recent pharmacy robberies in our city, and I want to reassure the community that we are taking this matter seriously. (We) welcome a community meeting to develop strategies to prevent future incidents.”
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