2 Georgia police officers shot responding to gun store burglary, suspect dead

Two Georgia police officers were injured during a shootout with a suspected weapon store burglar conscionable aft midnight Saturday morning.

Smyrna and Cobb County police responded to a 911 telephone astatine 12:16 a.m. regarding a burglary at the Adventure Outdoors weapon store on South Cobb Drive, Smyrna Police Department Chief Keith Zgonc said during an aboriginal greeting property conference. The expansive 80,000 quadrate ft store and scope is astir 13 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta.

When officers arrived, they encountered an equipped gunman that was wrong the store astatine the time, Zgonc said. Gunfire erupted betwixt the gunmen and officers connected scene. 

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Smyrna Police Department Chief Keith Zgonc, left, and Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer, right.  (Cobb County Police Department)

Officers from the Smyrna Police Department and the Cobb County Police Department returned fire, sidesplitting the suspect. His individuality has not been revealed. 

Two Smyrna Police Department officers were changeable and injured during the shooting. They were some transported to a section country infirmary wherever they are recovering from their non-life-threatening injuries.

A SWAT squad was subsequently brought successful to unafraid the store and guarantee determination was nary 1 other inside. 

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Two Georgia constabulary officers were injured during a shootout with a suspected weapon store burglar conscionable aft midnight Saturday morning.   (Google Maps)

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is connected the country and is investigating the incident, Zgonc said.

Zgonc said constabulary were unsure if the fishy had breached into the store to steal weapons. The store was closed astatine the time. 

Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said it is precise concerning that a fishy would sprout at police, noting that 2 officers person been killed successful metro Atlanta the past fewer weeks.

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The Adventure Outdoors weapon store is astir 13 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta. (Google Earth)

He said determination was a monolithic constabulary effect fixed the caller constabulary shootings successful the country and the quality of the store, which has astir 18,000 guns successful stock, according to the company’s website. The store touts itself arsenic the "actual largest weapon store successful the world."

"We had a batch of officers travel and that’s the crushed that they came," VanHoozer said. 

"I’m angry, it angers maine that we person radical that privation to bash this," Zgonc added. 

"They privation to instrumentality shots astatine constabulary officers. They privation to bash america harm and clearly, this idiosyncratic that was progressive successful this transgression enactment necessitated our response."