Arrest made in deaths of Georgia gun range owner, 2 family members

GRANTVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia man was arrested Friday in connection with a triple homicide at a Grantville shooting range last week, authorities said.

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Jacob Christian Muse, 21, of College Park, was charged with three counts of malice murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. Muse is accused of the April 8 shooting deaths of Thomas Richard Hawk Sr., 75; his wife, Evelyn Hawk, 75; and their 17-year-old grandson, Alexander Luke Hawk, WSB-TV reported.

Update 11:02 a.m. EDT April 16: The Hawk family released a statement after the arrest of Jacob Christian Muse on Friday.

“We are encouraged and honored by the incredible efforts of our local law enforcement including the Grantville Police and Coweta County Sheriff’s department, as well as the ATF and GBI. We understand from (Grantville) Chief Steve Whitlock that the current development with the murder suspect in custody, was certainly a team effort. We are continuing to pray for their teams during this stressful time, and we will continue to pray for the redemption of the perpetrator,” the statement said. “Thank you again, to the city of Grantville and the community at large for such an outpouring of love and support. It is so meaningful that so many in our community cherished them as we did and have helped to shine a light in the darkness.

“Tommy, Evelyn and Luke Hawk have been laid to rest but, we will certainly see them again.”

Original report: Thomas and Evelyn Hawk were the owners of the Lock, Stock & Barrel Shooting Range in Grantville. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post on April 15 that approximately 40 weapons and a camera DVR were taken from the business.

Grantville is located about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta in Coweta County.

The bodies were discovered by Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk, the couple’s son and father to Alexander Luke Hawk, CNN reported.

>> Georgia gun range owner, 2 other family members fatally shot at facility

The Hawk family had run Lock, Stock & Barrel for nearly 30 years, according to WSB. Their grandson, a senior at East Coweta High School, was on spring break and was helping out at the shop, the television station reported.

Muse was booked into the Coweta County Jail, the GBI said in its news release. He was arrested a day after the victims were buried, WSB reported.

Authorities did not release additional information about Muse’s arrest, according to The Associated Press. It was unclear whether Muse had an attorney who could comment.

A court date of Dec. 25 has been set for Muse, according to Coweta County online booking records.

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