Woman armed with hammer robs Rite Aid pharmacy in Clifton Heights

CLIFTON HEIGHTS, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Police in Delaware County are looking for a woman they say robbed a pharmacy while carrying a hammer.

Clifton Heights police say the robbery happened around 9 p.m. on January 17 at the Rite Aid on Baltimore Avenue and Maple Terrace.

Store employees say they saw the woman watching the store from the street right around closing time.

According to investigators, the woman was armed with a hammer as she approached the cashier and demanded money from the register. Workers say she stole about $200.

"You normally don't think of a hammer as an assault weapon," said Buck Clark from Darby. "People have become desperate and it's unfortunate."

"For that to happen around this neighborhood, I mean you move out of Philly to come here and you think it'd be a better situation, so I didn't really think that something like that would happen," said Chris Bolden from Aldan.

Robberies at pharmacies have become common around the country. Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company estimates there are more than 7,100 pharmacy theft cases per year.

It's a troubling trend for shoppers who rely on these stores for common goods and medicine.

"Fairly unsafe. Always feel like I have to look over my shoulder," said Tom Rerdon from Clifton Heights.

Investigators also believe this may not be this woman's first robbery.

Upper Darby police say a woman shown in a surveillance picture robbed a Rite Aid on North Lansdowne and Cedar Avenues on January 10. In that instance, she was carrying a butter knife and again, took cash from the register.

They're hoping the surveillance will lead them to a suspect.