Police have arrested a man who they say tried to rob a pharmacy using a syringe filled with what he claimed was the AIDS virus.

According to reports, the man walked into a west Tampa pharmacy on Thursday and ordered the clerk to give him Oxycodone pills. His hands were in his pockets, but the man said he had a hypodermic syringe filled with the virus. After employees argued with him, he ran off.

A syringe was never displayed, police said.

Anton F. Ziherle, 23, was arrested late Friday night on a tip from someone who recognized him from a security tape.

Police said syringes were found during Ziherle's arrest. They were empty.