A man who robbed two pharmacies in San Francisco on Thursday struck again Friday -- and police say the suspect is disguising himself as a clown, Officer Gordon Shyy said.
On Thursday, the bozo bandit robbed at gunpoint a Walgreens in the Marina and a smaller mom-and-pop pharmacy in the Sunset. In both robberies, the clown was armed with a handgun and demanded the pharmacists turn over prescription medication.
In both robberies, the pharmacists complied and the clown fled.
On Friday, the clown cowboy struck at least four more times between 5 and 7 p.m.
The first robbery occurred about 5:09 p.m. in the 2300 block of Geary Boulevard at Kaiser Permanente, police said. Then about an hour later, a pharmacy in the Sea Cliff neighborhood in the 300 block of 32nd Avenue was hit, Shyy said.
Then, about 6:55 p.m., the clown paid a visit to a pharmacy in the 900 block of Cole Street, Shyy said.
Some time within those two hours, he is believed to have robbed another pharmacy, this one in the first block of Castro Street, Shyy said.
In all the incidents, the suspect brandishes a handgun or says he has a handgun and he demands medication from the pharmacists, Shyy said. In the attempt at Kaiser, the suspect fled after the pharmacist called police. In the other robberies, the clown fled with stolen drugs.
Police are seeking the public’s help in finding this clown. Because of his disguise, his description is vague, but police believe he is an Asian man, possibly in his 20s, wearing white face paint and an orange-reddish wig, Shyy said. He is about 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds. In at least one incident, he was described as wearing a dark-hooded jacket and blue jeans.
Anyone with information on this clown is encouraged to call police at (415) 575-4444 or text to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the start of the message.
None of the pharmacists or clerks have been injured in the robberies, Shyy said.