An attempted robbery of an East Harlem pharmacy on Thursday led to a violent shootout with police officers killing the armed suspect.
The suspected thief, 23-year old Rudolph Wyatt, and an accomplice walked into an Rx Center store on 119th Street and 1st Avenue at 11AM demanding employees handover cash and a specific dosage of painkillers.
Witnesses say Wyatt wore a stocking over his head to conceal his identity.
An employee quickly pushed the store's panic button, alerting police to the scene. Wyatt attempted to escape by running to a nearby BP gas station, where retired police lieutenant Thomas Barnes happened to be filling up his personal vehicle.
Barnes and a female officer fired at Wyatt, shooting him in the head and killing him. As of this afternoon, the second suspect is still at large.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the two suspects are believed to be responsible for similar pharmacy burglaries that have recently taken place in Manhattan.
In 2011, four people were killed during a pharmacy robbery in Long Island in what a local police commissioner deemed, "one of the most heinous, brutal crimes we have ever encountered."
David Laffer and Melinda Brady were arrested for the deadly shooting. Both were highly addicted to painkillers.
Watch below for more details on Thursday's shootout:
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