Man with gun robs CVS pharmacy in Menlo Park

The CVS pharmacy at 700 El Camino Real in Menlo Park was held up shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 26) by a man who demanded two bottles of a prescription drug from the pharmacy while displaying a handgun, Menlo Park police reported.

No one was injured in the incident, police said.

Speaking to an employee in the pharmacy, the man demanded two bottles of Alprazolam and lifted his shirt to reveal a small black semi-automatic pistol lodged in his waistband, police said. (Alprazolam is used for treatment of anxiety, including anxiety caused by depression, and is also used to treat panic disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health.)

The employee complied with the demand and the man fled the store with the drugs and headed north on foot, police said.

Police responded to a 911 call at 9:08 a.m.

Police are looking for a white man in his 50s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall with thinning brown hair and a bald spot. He was wearing light blue denim pants, brown shoes and a tan trench coat and was carrying a black backpack, police said.

Surveillance video footage showed a man who matched that description entering and leaving the pharmacy, police said, but a search of the area was unproductive.

Police are asking witnesses or anyone with information on this case to call the Menlo Park Police Department at (650) 330-6300, or the anonymous tip line at (650) 330-6395.

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