GRANTVILLE, Ga. — The owner of a Georgia gun range, his wife and their 17-year-old grandson were fatally shot at the family business on Friday, authorities said.
The Grantville Police Department said in a Facebook post that the trio was killed during a robbery at Lock, Stock and Barrel in Grantville. The owner’s son walked into the business and found the victims dead inside, WSB-TV reported.
According to WSB, Grantville police identified the victims as the gun range owner, Thomas Richard Hawk Sr., 75; his wife, Evelyn, 75; and their 17-year-old grandson, Luke. The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post on Friday that approximately 40 weapons and a camera DVR were taken from the business.
A reward of up to $15,000 is being offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the City of Grantville and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, according to WSB.
Grantville is located about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta in Coweta County.
The family was well known in the Coweta County community and investigators are still trying to piece together what led up to the shooting. https://t.co/vUKlerw8vk
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) April 9, 2022
“I’ve been here eight years and we’ve never had anything like this,” Grantville police Chief Steve Whitlock told WSB. “Right now, I’m just speechless. I have a hard time talking about it because they were friends of ours. I’ve known them for a long time.”
The Atlanta office of the ATF said in a statement posted on Twitter that “individuals fled the store” with an “unknown” number of firearms.
ATF, the City of Grantville and NSSF announce $15,000 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction in triple murder, armed robbery and theft of firearms from FFL in Grantville, GA. @GBI_GA pic.twitter.com/XCDkEo05Wq
— ATF Atlanta (@ATFAtlanta) April 9, 2022
The Hawk family had run Lock, Stock and Barrel for nearly 30 years, the television station reported. Their grandson was on spring break from high school and was helping out at the shop, according to WSB.
“It’s really hard because we don’t have stuff like this here in Grantville,” Whitlock told the television station. “This is a nice, quiet little town.”
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