Armed robbers kill security guard during pharmacy robbery in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic.
NEWS:
Two armed robbers killed a 71-year-old private security guard during a robbery at a pharmacy in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic.
The shooting happened shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Farmacia VIP, located on Coronel Rafael Tomás Fernández Domínguez Avenue, also described by authorities as the San Isidro highway.
The victim was identified as Leonidas Morillo Contreras. He was working as the pharmacy’s security guard when the assailants entered the business and carried out the robbery.
Surveillance footage records the armed attack inside the pharmacy. The images show the assailants confronting the guard during the robbery and one of them shooting him. The video documents the killing but does not establish what the men said, whether the guard attempted to resist or what had happened immediately before the recorded confrontation.
Police said Morillo suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. The attacker also took the guard’s service weapon before fleeing the pharmacy.
Morillo died inside the business. Police officers and members of the Central Directorate of Criminal Investigations, known as Dicrim, secured the property while awaiting the removal of his body and processing the crime scene.
Initial reports described two men as participants in the robbery. Authorities began efforts to identify and locate those responsible using surveillance footage and other evidence collected from the pharmacy.
Several hours after the killing, police announced that investigators had located a man they identified as the suspected shooter.
The suspect was named as Guillermo de la Cruz, 28, also known as “El Gacho.” Police said officers found him at approximately 00:7:10 p.m. on Palmeras Orientales Street, several hours after the pharmacy robbery.
According to the police account, De la Cruz was traveling on a red X1000 motorcycle with its license plate concealed. Officers said he drew an illegally carried firearm and fired several times after noticing the police patrol.
Police reported that officers returned fire, leaving De la Cruz critically wounded. He was taken to Dr. Darío Contreras Hospital, where he died while receiving medical treatment for multiple gunshot wounds.
The description of that confrontation comes from the police report. No judicial ruling or independent investigative finding reviewed before publication established the full sequence of the exchange.
Police said investigators recovered a handgun, two 9 mm shell casings, a black motorcycle helmet and the red motorcycle from the scene. The seized items were transferred to the Scientific Police for examination.
The official update described De la Cruz as the suspected person responsible for Morillo’s death. Police also linked him to an armed robbery committed against a 60-year-old woman in the Los Tres Ojos sector on May 2, two days before the pharmacy attack. Authorities said their records included a previous robbery case from 2022.
The initial account and video-related reporting indicate that two men participated in the pharmacy robbery, while the subsequent police statement focused on De la Cruz as the suspected killer. No official update reviewed before publication identified the second alleged participant or announced an arrest connected to that person.
The available official statement also did not confirm that Morillo’s stolen service weapon was recovered. The firearm seized after the police confrontation was described as the gun allegedly used against the officers.
Morillo’s relatives later called for a complete investigation to identify everyone involved in the pharmacy attack. The death of De la Cruz ended the possibility of prosecuting him, but it did not resolve the status of the second man described in the initial reports.
News story written by DarkGore.
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