'Stressful day': Hayat Pharmacy founder shares new details about armed standoff

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee police confirmed a 29-year-old man is in custody after an hours-long standoff inside a pharmacy on the north side Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, CBS 58 spoke to founder and CEO of the Hayat Pharmacy who said he is thankful nobody got hurt.

The standoff between an armed suspect and authorities, including police officers and a tactical team, lasted nearly seven hours.

"He was running with a gun in his hand, and he ran to one of the rooms, so one of the employees called 911," said Hashim Zaibak.

Zaibak said that within minutes police officers and tactical units stormed the building. Milwaukee police later said the man is in custody for armed robbery.

A tear gas canister was found inside the break room where Zaibak believes the suspect was hiding.

"There's a lot of damage to the ceiling, so I'm assuming maybe he was hiding in the ceiling or something," he added.

Close to 20 workers were told to evacuate the building for safety reasons. The pharmacy located on Milwaukee's North Side remained closed Thursday.

"If any of the patients have emergencies or they need their medications urgently, they can walk into any of the Hayat pharmacies, and they’ll be taken care of," Zaibak said.

A crew has been cleaning and ventilating the space all day Thursday. Zaibak expects the pharmacy to be up and running again on Friday.