Masked Suspects Rob 2 Manhattan Stores at Gunpoint Within Hours, Fire Shot Into Wall: Cops

Police linked the suspects to six additional robberies, all within the last month

Two masked men robbed a Manhattan electronics store and a pharmacy on the same day at gunpoint, and one of them shot up a wall when he didn't get what he wanted quickly enough, authorities said.

The suspects walked into Cure Pharmacy on Third Avenue around 7 p.m. April 16, police said. One suspect walked up to the cash register, showed a gun and demanded money while the other suspect headed to the back of the store, where prescriptions are kept, authorities said.

The suspect in the back of the store also showed a gun and demanded all the "oxy" in the pharmacy. As the employees tried to get him the drugs, he became agitated and said, "Do you think I'm playing?", then fired a round from his handgun into the base of the store wall.

Employees handed him an unknown amount of the painkiller in a white paper bag and he ordered them to lie on the ground, authorities said. Both suspects then ran off; they got $300 in addition to the drugs.

Less than four hours earlier, police say the same two men, again wearing masks, walked into an MBA Wireless store on Second Avenue, approached an employee and flashed a gun, police said.

They demanded money from the register and ran off with $250 the employee gave to them, authorities said.

No injuries were reported in either robbery.

Authorities later linked the suspects to a series of similar robberies -- two on April 14, two on April 24, and most recently, one May 1. They hit two wine stores, a designer eyeglasses store, another pharmacy and a liquor store. The 59-year-old employee in the most recent robbery, on Friday at the liquor store on Kings Highway, fought back and sustained a head injury and bruising.

Police released surveillance video of the latest robbery.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

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