Police come under gunfire at gun shop near Atlanta

ATLANTA – A gunman inside a gun shop near Atlanta began shooting at police officers, who returned fire after responding to reports of a break-in at the business shortly before dawn Tuesday, Marietta police said.

No injuries were reported and four suspects have been apprehended at the Deercreek Gunshop in Marietta, northwest of Atlanta, Marietta police Officer Brittany Wallace told The Associated Press.

Officers responding to a report of a burglary noticed movement on top of and inside the building, and soon apprehended two suspects, Wallace said. A third suspect inside the business fired on the officers, and one of the lawmen returned fire, but no one was hit, police said. A fourth suspect came out of the business with his hands up, Wallace said.

Police used an armoured police vehicle to make entry into the gun store because they didn’t know if anyone else was inside the store, Wallace said in an interview shortly before 8 a.m.

By 10 a.m., police had determined that no other suspects were inside, she later told reporters at the scene.

Wallace said she didn’t know exactly how the burglary report was received by police, but she said there were no signs of any type of ambush or attempt to lure officers to the store. Police nationwide have been on high alert in the wake of recent killings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Video from a television news helicopter showed officers taking cover behind police cars outside the gun store.

“There are several officers, and our response to anything here lately has been that way,” Wallace said. “We want to make sure the business is secure, but also the surroundings are secure for our safety.”

Marietta is about 18 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.