Philadelphia police are currently looking to identify a father who robbed a local Rite Aid pharmacy in what appears to be a last-ditch act of desperation.
According to WPVI-TV, on Jan. 3 around noon, authorities say a man in a gray hoodie walked into the store and demanded cash from a store clerk.
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At first the suspect was thought to just be another customer as he walked the aisles picking out items, but when he got to the cashier he slipped the employee a note that surprisingly read, “Give me all the money. I’m sorry, I have a sick child. You have 15 seconds.”
Fearing for their safety, the cashier didn’t put up a fight and opened the register, then placing the money in a bag. Once his request had been granted the suspect then fled from the scene with an undetermined amount of cash.
“If you’re desperate, you’ll do something desperate,” shopper Peachola Lamkin later told CBS Philadelphia, then noted unsympathetically, “Just because you have a sick child, there’s no reason to rob a store.”
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Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew echoed those sentiments explaining to the public that while he understands that “people have needs” we all need to be reminded that theft is, “just not the way to go about fulfilling those needs.”
Surveillance video released by Philadelphia police confirmed that the suspect never threatened a clerk with a weapon, and it’s unclear if he was even in possession of one. The department says if the suspect turns himself in there may even be resources available for his purported sick child.
“There may be some specialized services for this individual and his family that he could be in need of, too,” Kinebrew said. “Unfortunately, the only way at this point he may be able to get them, is if he comes in and sees us.”
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