Guns stolen during Grantville gun range triple murder recovered, suspect was a former customer
GRANTVILLE, Ga. (CBS46) -- Grantville Police made an arrest Friday in a triple homicide that occurred at a Coweta County gun range. Monday police revealed that the shooting suspect was a former customer at the gun range.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Grantville Police announced that 21-year-old Jacob Christian Muse of College Park has been arrested and charged with three counts of malice murder in connection with the incident.
During a search warrant at Muse’s College Park home on April 15, investigators found several handguns and long guns stolen from the Lock Stock and Barrell Shooting Range. The weapons along with the serial numbers were verified by the ATF.
Police say there were more than a dozen guns stolen, not 40 as they previously stated. Grantville Police say Muse had frequented the range as a former customer.
“He was known at the range, from my understanding, he’d been to the range several times and he did use the range and he had purchased one gun there,” said Grantville Police Chief Steve Whitlock.
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The shootings occurred on April 8 in Grantville at the Lock Stock and Barrel Shooting Range. Police received a call after 8 p.m. from Coweta County Coroner Tommy Richard Hawk, Jr. reporting that 75-year-old Tommy Richard Hawk Sr., 75-year-old Evelyn Hawk, and 17-year-old Alexander Luke Hawk, 17, were found shot and dead within the family business.
According to authorities, the recovery of all the weapons, coupled Muse’s interview resulted in his arrest. At this time, officials say Muse has been the only person arrested, but that is subject to change based on the investigation.
The realization the Muse knew who the family members were has made the case even more unsettling.
“It’s kind of hard to know that somebody knew this family and did this awful thing,” Whitlock said. “It’s bad enough to lose one but to lose both your parents and your son that’s just got to be so emotional for the family.”
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The Hawk family has released the following statement:
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 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.
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.
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