Arlington pharmacist shot by a man dressed as a woman

Police believe an Arlington pharmacist was shot during an attempted robbery Wednesday by a man dressed as a woman.

The shooting happened about 9 a.m. at the Remco Pharmacy on West Division Street. Police initially said a woman walked in and demanded narcotic drugs. But now they believe it was a man wearing a flower print dress, distinctive hat and white sneakers. He drove to the pharmacy in a white 4-door Nissan Versa or Sentra.

The pharmacist, Chris Ajayi, told the suspect he needed a prescription to get Hydrocodone. The man dressed as a woman then pulled out a gun. Ajayi then told the suspect he couldn’t have the drugs because they were locked up, so the suspect shot the pharmacist, police said.

The property manager said the way the suspect kept shielding his face show he appeared to know where all the cameras were on the property.

Despite the disguise, police think someone may know the man either by watching him on video or by recognizing the car.

Ajayi, a man in his 60s, was apparently shot once in the neck and twice in the abdomen through an opening in the bulletproof glass. The pharmacist’s daughter said her father was out of surgery as of Wednesday afternoon and was expected to survive.

"Family owned, small pharmacy and I would imagine he knows most of the customers that enter the store. So that made this very unusual considering it's a small store, very few clientele,” said Sgt. Vanessa Harrison with the Arlington Police Department.

Ajayi called police and a family clinic a few doors down. Nurses from the clinic rushed over and treated him for multiple gunshots until the ambulance arrived.

One of his employees, pharmacist Bisi Olitolo, says Ajayi runs a modest business to help people who can't always afford their medications.

"A wonderful man very helpful very resourceful to everybody very, very good man,” Olitolo said.

The previous owner, who sold the pharmacy to Ajayi five years ago, declined to talk on camera but said she tried to talk him out of buying the pharmacy because it was too dangerous. She said she was robbed after only six months of operating the business.

The gunman fled on foot from the scene, but police were unable to find him since the initial description of the suspect was a woman.

The pharmacy reopened on Thursday.