GRANTVILLE, Ga. — A suspect has been arrested in the case of an alleged Grantville, Georgia shooting range robbery that left three dead. The College Park man is facing multiple charges.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced on Friday that Jacob Christian Muse, 21, has been arrested for the murder of Luke Hawk, Evelyn Hawk and Tommy Hawk. The were killed at the Lock, Stock and Barrel gun store in Grantville last week.
Muse is facing three counts of malice murder and has been booked into the Coweta County Jail, the GBI said.
The Hawk family released a statement Saturday reacting to the arrest:
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.
The Grantville Police Department responded to a 911 call from Coweta County Coroner Tommy Richard Hawk, Jr. at 8:08 p.m. on Friday, April 8. Tommy Sr., Evelyn and Alexander were found shot to death inside the Lock, Stock and Barrel Shooting Range located at 514 Bohannon Road. Tommy Sr. and Evelyn owned the gun range where they were killed. Alexander, their grandson and son to Richard Hawk Jr., was working in the store that day. He was 17 years old, the GBI said.
The suspect that shot and killed the three family members left the gun range with a cache of stolen firearms, the GBI said.
"The door is closed, the door is locked, everything is locked up. I see blood coming from my son's - I see blood coming from my son. I can't tell if anyone is dead or alive or what, but he's not moving, he doesn't look like he's breathing," Richard Hawk Jr. told a dispatcher when he first discovered the scene.
Shelby Wright, Luke's aunt, previously told 11Alive that the family is thankful for the support they have received from the public since the incident.
“Tommy and Evelyn and Luke were just Christian, hard-working, wonderful people,” she said. “And we are just so grateful for the outpouring of support and all the prayers, and we just feel lifted up and loved, right now.”
Luke was set to graduate high school in just a month.
“Oh he was sunshine,” Wright said. “He was just sunshine. Sweet, thoughtful, sensitive, just coming into his own, he was so excited to graduate in a month, he was so excited to go to Abraham Baldwin (Agricultural College), he was just ready to take that next step. And he loved his family. He loved his family.... They were just servants of the Lord... the kindest people you would ever meet.”