ST. LOUIS — A group of four or five men wearing all black tracksuits and masks robbed a veterinary clinic in St. Louis at gunpoint Tuesday.
At around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the robbers held up the City Paws Veterinary Clinic on Vandeventer Avenue in the city's Shaw neighborhood just as employees were closing.
The men ordered people to the back of the clinic at gunpoint and demanded that they open a locker that contained controlled substances. They specifically asked for Ketamine, but also took Midazolam, euthanasia drugs and cash, according to a police source.
They left in a maroon SUV, last seen driving north along Vandeventer Avenue.
Police say the clinic had the right measures in place, including how their products were locked and secured.
The victims described the suspects as being in their late teens and early 20s, between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-1 with slender builds, wearing all-black clothes and black masks. One victim described their clothing as Nike tracksuits.
On Wednesday, a 5 On Your Side crew saw a sign posted to the front door of the clinic that told customers to text a number when they arrived and went on to say, “The door will be locked for the unforeseeable future.”
5 On Your Side reached out to City Paws Veterinary Clinic for an interview. They responded, "At this time our staff is recovering from the event and we wish to have our privacy at this time."
The drugs
Ketamine is also called Special K and is often used as a date rape drug. It is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. It can be injected or mixed with other liquids, snorted or smoked, according to the DEA.
Dr. Fred Rottnek is a professor of family and community medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the head of SLU's addiction medicine fellowship.
He said veterinary break-ins became more common in the last 20 years because of the opioid epidemic.
"Because a vet will use, especially large animal vets, will typically use a lot of opioids. So we're seeing a big increase," he added.
As for the drugs stolen, one was Midazalom.
The Mayo Clinic described it as an injection used to produce sleepiness or drowsiness and relieve anxiety before surgery or certain procedures.
"Midazolam is in the same category as Xanex," Dr. Rottnek said. "It's a benzodiazepine by class and it's also something that is a sedative-hypnotic."
"All three of these substances for humans are all considered controlled substances," he said. "They, by the DEA, fall into that category of controlled substance, meaning that either they have limited medical use or their medical use can be problematic depending on the purity or how it's being used."
Dr. Rottnek told 5 On Your Side he's concerned if these drugs were sold.
"You don't 't necessarily know the strength of these, and it certainly doesn't help me feel any better to know that the one drug is for euthanizing animals because that's probably very high potency. That's another concern about when things like this happen. I wonder what they're going to sell this to people who don't know better," he added.
The DEA also shared this statement:
Veterinarians, similar to other medical practitioners, can apply to be Drug Enforcement Administration registrants and obtain authority to handle controlled substances, such as Ketamine, a Scheduled III level drug. If the controlled substances are diverted in any manner, including internal thefts, burglaries, or robberies, registrants are required to report these incidents to DEA. DEA will then work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to coordinate investigative resources. DEA encourages registrants to maintain limited inventories of controlled substances and remain vigilant for the safety and security of its staff and clients.
This is a developing story and will be updated as 5 On Your Side confirms more information.
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