Hours after a group of thieves broke into LAX Pharmacy in Lennox Thursday morning, Michael Ahdout, the shop owner, quickly had to pick up the pieces and open the shop back up not only for his business but for the community as many patients rely on the medications he sells.
Security video that captured the burglary shows despite setting off the alarm, the burglars poured into the mom and pop shop, snatching away narcotic cough syrup and the pharmacy’s safe.
“They broke through a metal door inside and proceeded to steal whatever they thought was something that they could sell on the street, I imagine,” Ahdout said. “I spent a few thousand dollars trying to reinforce everything. Yet they still found the vulnerability in the area that they could chop through with very sophisticated equipment.”
The crew pulled up in a white SUV and forced their way into the store. Ahdout believes the same crew targeted his store in late June.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
The latest burglary is another punch in the gut for many independent pharmacy operators like Ahdout as they struggle to stay in business while playing a critical role in their community as well as public health, according to Dr. Steven Chen of the USC Mann School of Pharmacy
“Many of these pharmacies, by the way, dispense medications to the loss. In other words, they give away medications in the course of providing for their patients,” Chen said. “Many of these pharmacy owners are from the same ethnic background, speak the same language.They can relate to their neighbors.”
In addition to losses related to under-reimbursement from insurers, independent pharmacies face a number of challenges, including safety and invention protection, Chen said.
In the long run, it’s the customers who may be the ones suffering as fewer pharmacies in underserved communities means patients need to travel farther for healthcare.
“We take care of the community, which is a lower socioeconomic community, and by doing damage to the pharmacy, they're also doing damage to the community,” Ahdout said.
