A 26-year-old man will be charged after citizens in Arnprior stepped in to apprehend him during an apparent armed robbery at a local pharmacy.
The male allegedly tried to rob Clancy's Drug Store on John Street a little after 11 a.m. Thursday. Although he was armed, police won't say what that weapon was.
As the situation unfolded, one of the employees ran out of the store and locked the door to keep the suspect inside.
The owner of the store ran across the street to a nearby antique shop to call 911.
"She was yelling at us to call police, she was being robbed," antique store owner Doug Smith told CTV Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the suspect tried to escape. He apparently found the backdoor of the pharmacy and kicked it open to try to get away.
The suspect was stopped when the owner's husband and two other bystanders tackled him to the ground. Other witnesses blocked his escape.
"People on the street were yelling not to tackle him, but they did. They held him down and he put up quite a fight. It seemed an eternity, but the police were there in minutes," said Smith.
Police say although they don't encourage this kind of civilian response, the fact is it happened and their actions helped officers make an arrest.
Although the male suspect hasn't been charged yet, police say he will likely face a charge of armed robbery.
Business owners in the area say it's the third time the pharmacy has been robbed in less than a year.
The store was robbed about a month ago, as well as last summer. In both cases the drug store was allegedly targeted for OxyContin.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
