Suspect killed and 2 Georgia officers wounded in shooting during suspected gun store burglary

SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Two Georgia police officers were wounded and a man was killed during a shooting inside a suburban Atlanta retailer that calls itself the world’s largest gun store.

Smyrna Police Chief Keith Zgonc said the officers were investigating reports of gunfire and a burglary in progress around midnight when they found the suspect inside Adventure Outdoors, which has more than 18,000 guns in stock.

“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.

Police have not released the names of the deceased suspect or the officers, who Zgonc said were hospitalized and expected to survive.

“We’re not sure what his reasoning was for breaking into the store,” said Zgonc, noting that police believe he acted alone.

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 a large number of his officers arrived to support Smyrna police because of the uncertainty of the situation.

“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 they’re in a gun store with lots of weapons.”