SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Two Georgia police officers were wounded and one man was killed in a shooting at a gun store in suburban Atlanta, police said Saturday.
The officers were investigating reports of gunfire and a burglary in progress around midnight when they found the suspect inside the Adventure Outdoors store, Smyrna Police Chief Keith Zgonc said.
“When officers arrived they encountered an armed gunman that was inside the store … gunfire erupted between the gunman and officers on the scene,” wounding the two officers and killing the suspect, Zgonc said.
Both officers were hospitalized and are expected to survive their wounds, Zgonc said.
Police have not released any names.
Cobb County police officers also were on the scene and fired at the suspect, but Zgonc did not say which of the officers shot the man or how many shots were fired.
Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said his officers were supporting Smyrna police.
“There are going to be a lot of police officers come when one of their comrades is hurt,” VanHoozer said. “We don’t know what we have, we don’t know how many suspects we have … we do know that that they’re in a gun store with lots of weapons.”
A large number of officers went to the scene because of that uncertainty, he said.
Police believe the suspect was alone, but do not know his motive, Zgonc said.
“We’re not sure what his reasoning was for breaking into the store,” he said.
Adventure Outdoors calls itself the largest gun store in the world with more than 18,000 guns in stock.
The Associated Press