This Pharmacist Punched a Box Cutter-Wielding Robber in the Face

A would-be armed robber picked the wrong pharmacy in a botched attempt to score some prescription pain medication.

Police say Iowa pharmacist Bill Shipley took matters into his own hands when a man with a box cutter and a black stocking over his head walked into his Council Bluffs drugstore Wednesday morning.

"At first, I thought it was the delivery man delivering our medications that we get every morning," Shipley told Omaha ABC affiliate KETV-TV.

He said the man told him he had a gun and demanded hydromorphone, a pain medication similar to Oxycontin or morphine.

That's when Shipley, a former rugby player, decided enough was enough.

"I started moving toward him and I could see he had an orange box cutter in his hand, so then I just punched him in the face," he said.

Shipley told the station he managed to force the man outside and hold him down until police arrived.

"He kept trying to get his gloves off and saying he was going to shoot me, but I don't think he had a gun, so I just kept punching him," he said.

When officers arrived they took Donald White into custody. According to KETV, they believe White stole a truck in Omaha and used it in the attempted pharmacy robbery. Investigators said White might also have robbed a nearby CVS Pharmacy earlier in the week. Charges against him are pending.

It's not the first time Shipley's stopped a crime.

"About 10 years ago the same thing happened with the same result," he told the station. "I actually chased him down and tackled him further down the parking lot."

And he said he'd do it again.

"I know if I wouldn't have done anything I would have regretted it. I just like to take care of the situation," Shipley said.