Police nabbed a suspect Friday in an armed robbery of a Georgia gun range that killed the owner, his wife, and grandchild.
Jacob Christian Muse, 21, of College Park, Georgia, was charged Friday with three charges of malice murder, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. According to the statement, Muse was placed into the Coweta County Jail in northwest Georgia.
On April 8, police in Grantville, a tiny community located around 50 miles southwest of Atlanta, discovered three dead at Lock Stock & Barrel Shooting Range. Thomas Hawk, 75; Evelyn Hawk, 75; and Luke Hawk, 17, were eventually identified as the fatalities.
Investigators determined that up to 40 firearms, as well as the shooting range’s surveillance camera, had been taken.
Federal officials, concerned about the quantity of stolen guns, announced a $15,000 prize for information leading to an arrest and conviction. It was not immediately obvious if the prize would be paid, and police provided no other information on the arrest.
Luke Hawk was assisting his grandparents at the store during his spring break, police said. According to Police Chief Steve Whitlock, the Hawks were well-known and respected residents of their tiny, close-knit town, where they owned and ran Lock Stock & Barrel for over three decades.
“We’re a small community with only 12 police,” Whitlock explained. “I’ve been here eight years and have never had to do an investigation of this nature. It’s been difficult for us.”
