Pharmacy owner grabs gun, chases down robbery suspect in Southwest Portland

The owner of a pharmacy in downtown Portland chased a robber down the street with a gun, apprehending him with the help of an employee until police arrived.

The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested by Portland police. Hell be questioned by detectives and then booked into Multnomah County Jail, said Sgt. Pete Simpson, spokesman for Portland police.

The man walked into Central Drug Pharmacy at 538 S.W. Fourth Ave. just after 1 p.m., said he had a gun and would use it if the staff didn't give him drugs and cash. The stores owner, longtime pharmacist Gary Lundgren, gave the man a few bottle of pills and the suspect fled.

Lundgren did not give the man what he wanted, Simpson said. "He wanted opiates. The owner gave him something else to get rid of him."

As soon as the man left, Lundgren grabbed his own gun and with a pharmacy technician chased the man down.

They held him at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Yamhill Street until police arrived and took him into custody.

Lundgren keeps a gun in his store for protection, said his lawyer Steven Ungar.

"He does need to protect himself and his business, and the people there are more like his family," Ungar said.

Ungar said the technician "had the suspect in essentially a full Nelson" by the time Lundgren arrived.

Lundgren had grabbed his gun from the store, but there was no need to point it as the suspect was already on the ground, being held for police, Ungar said.

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Pharmacy owner grabs gun, chases down robbery suspect in Southwest Portland