Police seek gunman in Society Hill attack on pharmacist

The pharmacist shot after he chased down his armed robber last month in Society Hill was discharged from the hospital this week. Police released a sketch of the gunman yesterday, in hopes the public can help identify him.

The victim, 35, was walking east on Lombard Street between Third and Fourth at 9:50 p.m. April 29 when two men approached him, demanded his cellphone and then fled on foot after the victim complied, said Lt. Patrick Doherty of Central Detectives.

The victim chased his attackers down, sticking with the one who had his cellphone when the thugs ran in opposite directions, Doherty said. When the good guy cornered the bad guy in a courtyard on Lawrence Street north of Pine, the thief fired once, hitting the pharmacist in the chest near his shoulder.

A passerby called 9-1-1. The pharmacist, who works at a nearby CVS, was released from the hospital Wednesday, Doherty said.

The incident is unrelated to a November 2011 shooting in the same area that left a 46-year-old man paralyzed; police have several suspects in custody in that case, Doherty said. But another shooting, in which Michael G. Hagan Jr., 32, an information-technology consultant from Fishtown, died during a robbery at Fourth and Lombard streets, remains unsolved. Doherty and Lt. John Stanford, a police spokesman, couldn't say if those cases are related.

In the pharmacist's shooting, the gunman is described as black, age 25 to 30, about 220 pounds, with a dark beard and black sweatshirt. Tipsters are asked to call Central Detectives at (215) 686-3093.