ATLANTA, GA - Two police officers in Georgia were injured during a gunfire exchange with an armed suspect who was attempting to burglarize a gun store just after midnight on Saturday, September 28th.
According to Fox News, police with Smyrna and Cobb County responded to a 911 call at 12:16 a.m. regarding a burglary at the Adventure Outdoors gun store along South Cobb Drive. The expansive 80,000 square foot store and gun range is about 13 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta. Smyrna Police Department (SPD) Chief Keith Zgonc said that when officers arrived on scene, they encountered an armed gunman that was inside of the store.
Officers from both SPD and the Cobb County Police Department (CCPD) returned fire, striking and killing the armed suspect. WLBT reported that officers brought the man outside of the building, but when they tried to arrest him, he escaped and started to fire with a rifle. As of this writing, the suspect has not been identified.
Two SPD officers were shot and injured during the shooting. Both officers were transported to local hospitals where they are currently recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. At a press conference, Zgonc said that a SWAT team was brought in to secure the store and ensure that there was no one else inside.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is on scene and will be investigating the incident.
When the incident happened, the store was closed. Zgonc said that responding police were unsure if the suspect had broken in to steal weapons. CCPD Chief Stuart VanHoozer said that it is very concerning that a suspect would shoot at police, noting that two officers were killed in metro Atlanta the last few weeks.
Due to those recent incidents and the fact that the store has about 18,000 guns in stock, VanHoozer said that there was a massive police response. According to the store's website, they claim that they are the "actual largest gun store in the world." VanHoozer said, "We had a lot of officers come and that's the reason that they came."
Zgonc added, "I'm angry. It angers me that we have people that want to do this. They want to take shots at police officers. They want to do us harm and clearly, this individual that was involved in this criminal act necessitated our response." Even though no CCDP officers were injured during the incident, VanHoozer said, "We're keeping the Smyrna police family and our own police family in our thoughts and prayers for sure, as we constantly do."
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Zgnoc noted that police believe the gunman acted alone. Zgnoc said, "We're not sure what his reasoning was for breaking into the store. Zgonc did not say which officers fired at the man or how many shots were fired. VanHoozer said, "There are going to be a lot of police officers come when one of their comrades is hurt. We don't know what we have. We don't know how many suspects we have ... we do know that they're in a gun store with lots of weapons."
According to Fox News, police with Smyrna and Cobb County responded to a 911 call at 12:16 a.m. regarding a burglary at the Adventure Outdoors gun store along South Cobb Drive. The expansive 80,000 square foot store and gun range is about 13 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta. Smyrna Police Department (SPD) Chief Keith Zgonc said that when officers arrived on scene, they encountered an armed gunman that was inside of the store.
Officers from both SPD and the Cobb County Police Department (CCPD) returned fire, striking and killing the armed suspect. WLBT reported that officers brought the man outside of the building, but when they tried to arrest him, he escaped and started to fire with a rifle. As of this writing, the suspect has not been identified.
Two SPD officers were shot and injured during the shooting. Both officers were transported to local hospitals where they are currently recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. At a press conference, Zgonc said that a SWAT team was brought in to secure the store and ensure that there was no one else inside.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is on scene and will be investigating the incident.
When the incident happened, the store was closed. Zgonc said that responding police were unsure if the suspect had broken in to steal weapons. CCPD Chief Stuart VanHoozer said that it is very concerning that a suspect would shoot at police, noting that two officers were killed in metro Atlanta the last few weeks.
Due to those recent incidents and the fact that the store has about 18,000 guns in stock, VanHoozer said that there was a massive police response. According to the store's website, they claim that they are the "actual largest gun store in the world." VanHoozer said, "We had a lot of officers come and that's the reason that they came."
Zgonc added, "I'm angry. It angers me that we have people that want to do this. They want to take shots at police officers. They want to do us harm and clearly, this individual that was involved in this criminal act necessitated our response." Even though no CCDP officers were injured during the incident, VanHoozer said, "We're keeping the Smyrna police family and our own police family in our thoughts and prayers for sure, as we constantly do."
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Zgnoc noted that police believe the gunman acted alone. Zgnoc said, "We're not sure what his reasoning was for breaking into the store. Zgonc did not say which officers fired at the man or how many shots were fired. VanHoozer said, "There are going to be a lot of police officers come when one of their comrades is hurt. We don't know what we have. We don't know how many suspects we have ... we do know that they're in a gun store with lots of weapons."
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2024-10-01T08:59+0530 | Comment by: Michael
"...We're not sure what his reasoning was for breaking into the store." I know...and, everyone else knows. WTF is wrong with you, Chief?