Schools lock down after heist

The Evening Sun

Posted: 03/25/2009 03:32:36 PM EDT


Hanover police are searching for two men who robbed a Broadway pharmacy Wednesday morning, causing three nearby schools to go on lockdown for several hours.
Shortly after 10 a.m., two young males, one carrying a handgun, walked into the store in the 800 block of Broadway and demanded the drug OxyContin, said Hanover Police Chief Randy Whitson.

Police do not identify the names of victimized businesses, but the only pharmacy in that area is the Broadway Pharmacy, 846 Broadway.

But the pharmacy does not carry that drug, so the robbers demanded cash, Whitson said. The two employees complied and the males were last seen walking north on Broadway, one of them men with a bicycle.

As details of the robbery were reported to police, officers filled the area. Meanwhile, a resident in the 900 block of Broadway reported a burglary in progress, Whitson said.

Police believe one of the robbers broke into the house, but fled when he discovered the resident and a dog, Whitson said.

The robber was last seen by neighbors going through yards east of Broadway, heading in the direction of Hanover Middle School, Hanover High School and Washington Elementary School.

"We had concerns that he was still armed and in the vicinity of three school buildings," Whitson said. "So we called the schools to go on lockdown."

Police tracked the robber to the vicinity of Broadway and Philadelphia Street where they lost him, Whitson said. Once they were confident he was moving away from the school buildings, police notified district Superintendent Jill Dillon the schools could go back to business as usual. The other suspect was last seen walking west of Broadway headed toward Eisenhower Drive and George Street.
Police recovered the bicycle, some clothing and the handgun.

"We're fortunate no kid found it while walking home," Whitson said.

The robbers were between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall. One wore a ski mask and the other wore a white cloth over his face. One was wearing a black hoodie and the other was wearing a gray hoodie with "Aeropostal" written across the front of it. They both had slender builds and are likely between 16 and their early 20s, Whitson said.

Anyone with details about the robbery are asked to call Hanover Police at (717) 637-5575, or 911.