Superman has his Kryptonite. And Spider-Man, it turns out, has his own weakness: OxyContin.
A man dressed in the red-and-black mask of the cartoon web-slinger robbed a Giant pharmacy in Burke of the powerful painkiller on Monday afternoon. Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Camille Neville said the incident is not only the county’s first OxyContin heist in months, but also apparently the first Spider-Man-themed robbery.
The suspect, also clad in blue shorts and a blue sweatshirt, entered the Giant on 9550 Burke Road at about 3 p.m. and walked to the pharmacy at the rear of the store, according to Fairfax police. He then reportedly snuck behind the counter and demanded the drug from a 39-year-old female pharmacist, implying he had a a weapon.
“He made movements to indicate that he might have a weapon, as well as gestures” toward his waistband, Neville said. “[The pharmacist] felt that there was a weapon.”
The pharmacist opened the safe and the man snatched an undisclosed amount of pills, according to police, after which he fled on foot, never once removing the mask. Neville said there were no injuries.
He is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. Stills from an in-store camera show the man has light skin.
A store manager declined comment on Tuesday.
OxyContin, also called “hillbilly heroin,” can be obtained legally through a prescription but has gained notoriety in recent years because of its addictive qualities and high potential for abuse.
Anyone with information is asked to call Fairfax County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS or Fairfax County police at 703-691-2131.
