Surveillance video footage has emerged, revealing a brazen act of theft in the heart of Philadelphia, as a group of individuals armed with axes and hammers ransacked a local pharmacy during a night of rampant looting in the city. The Philadelphia Police Department Northwest Detective Division has released this footage from the events that transpired on September 26 in an effort to identify the suspects responsible for the commercial property looting.

The group of alleged thieves targeted a small, locally-owned pharmacy, making off with all of its medications, incurring an estimated loss and damage of $150,000, according to law enforcement authorities. The targeted establishment, Fairmount Pharmacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fell victim to the group at approximately 10:50 p.m. Their modus operandi involved using hammers and axes to forcibly break into the premises, shattering the front window and door.

Also Read: Philadelphia rocked by second night of mass looting, beauty and liquor stores targeted

The surveillance footage vividly captures the moment the group of thieves breaches the pharmacy’s gates, deftly pocketing medications in their sweatshirt pockets. The owner of Fairmount Pharmacy, Gerald Volgraf, lamented the audacity and destructiveness of the thieves, stating that they were inside his store for less than two minutes but managed to inflict a substantial amount of damage.

Aside from the stolen medications, the group also made off with approximately $68 from the cash register and prepackaged prescriptions. The alarm about the robbery initially reached Volgraf through the tenants residing directly above the pharmacy. Describing the aftermath, Volgraf said, “About 3 o’clock this morning, I actually got a phone call from our tenants in the apartments above the pharmacy. When I got down here, the gates were ripped off, the store was a mess, there was a ton of debris, a ton of damage, and medications were missing.”

Also Read: Philadelphia liquor stores shut down after 18 were broken into during mass looting

These troubling incidents of looting follow in the wake of dual nights of looting in Philadelphia on September 26 through 27. Images of the aftermath reveal the widespread destruction, with mannequins and sneakers strewn about at a sporting goods store, toppled Apple Store and T-Mobile store displays, and several businesses with shattered glass windows and broken metal door gates. Law enforcement authorities responded to these incidents by making over 50 arrests, even apprehending a burglary suspect who was out on bail for a major murder case from the previous year. The impact of these looting sprees underscores the need for measures to maintain public safety and protect businesses in the City of Brotherly Love.