Suspected Terrorist Said to Have Visited Druggist

A man believed to be one of the hijackers in the terrorist attacks visited a drugstore in Delray Beach in late August for medication to treat a burning sensation in his hands, a pharmacist says.

Gregg Chatterton, co-owner of Huber Discount Drugs, said the man he identified as Mohamed Atta was evasive about the cause and the pharmacist asked if he’d been exposed to cleaning fluids or gardening chemicals.

Chatterton said Atta was accompanied by a man the pharmacist later identified from photos as suspected hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi. The pharmacist said the second man tapped himself on the chest and said he needed cough medication. Chatterton gave him the name of a walk-in clinic in case his cold got worse.

The FBI and Food and Drug Administration’s criminal unit questioned him twice this week and asked whether the men had inquired about anthrax antibiotics, Chatterton said. He told them that they had not.