Police searching for suspects in armed robbery at Palo Alto Safeway pharmacy

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Friday, January 10, 2020
Police searching for suspects in armed robbery at Palo Alto Safeway pharmacy
Police are searching for the suspects in an armed robbery at the Safeway pharmacy in Palo Alto.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A Safeway employee says he was working in one of the aisles at the Palo Alto store on Middlefield Road after midnight when two men armed with a gun stormed into the store and headed to the pharmacy. They broke the window of the door to get into the closed pharmacy.

"I just heard the noise and went to see what happened. That's when I saw the other guy and the guy pointed to me and said 'hey get on the floor,'" said employee Mauricio Serrano.

There were reports that the gun was fired. Serrano told us he doesn't think the gun went off and police say the sound of the glass breaking could be mistaken for a gunshot. They will review the surveillance video to see what exactly happened.

Police say the men got away with prescription drugs, although they don't know yet specifically what medicine they took. Officers say they got away in a red full-size pick-up truck, likely a Chevrolet.

"It's a surprise. This is not something that happens all the time in Palo Alto," said Sgt. Craig Lee of the Palo Alto Police Department. "We think this is an isolated incident. We do not think there is an immediate public safety danger."

He says no customers were in the store at the time of the robbery.

Officers closed off the parking lot until 5 a.m. while they conducted their investigation. The store is now open.

Serrano says it was scary but that he and his fellow employees are all ok.

No arrests have been made. Police are asking anyone with information to please come forward.