ELKHART — Quick action by a former law enforcement officer may have thwarted a robbery attempt Monday morning at an Elkhart pharmacy.

Lt. Ed Windbigler of the Elkhart Police Department said that officers were called to the Walgreens drug store at 1416 Cassopolis Ave. shortly after 8 a.m. after a pharmacist at the store phoned 911 to report a robbery attempt.

Witnesses told officers the suspect entered the store and went to the pharmacy counter, where he demanded several bottles of the painkiller Oxycontin.

As the would-be robber tried to leave the store, a former police officer, whose name was not released, tackled the robber and restrained him on the floor of the store until police arrived several minutes later.

Windbigler said that the robber, who complained of chest pains and breathing difficulties, was taken to Elkhart General Hospital for an examination after he was taken into custody. He is expected to be arrested and charged upon his release from the hospital.