The Georgia gun store where three family members were fatally shot last week was locked up when the deaths were discovered, according to a recording of the 911 call released to WXIA-TV.
“I see blood coming from my son,” Richard Hawk tells a dispatcher in the audio obtained by the television station.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Hawk called 911 after he went to Lock, Stock and Barrel, a shooting range and gun store in Grantville, to check on his family after they didn’t come home.
Hawk’s parents, Tommy and Evelyn Hawk, own the business and his son, 18-year-old Luke, was helping at the store that day while on spring break.
Richard Hawk, who is also the Coweta County coroner, told the dispatcher that he could not get inside the building because “the door is locked, everything is locked up” and he didn’t bring his key.
During the call, which lasted about a minute and a half, Richard asked for police officers to immediately come to the store in Grantville, a small city about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta.
“I think somebody has robbed us and probably shot my family . . . oh my God,” Richard told the dispatcher, according to the television station.
“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.”
Responding to a question from the dispatcher, Richard again asked for help.
“My parents are also supposed to be here too, just get somebody down here quick,” Richard said in the recording, according to WXIA-TV.
When the dispatcher asked Richard if he could perform CPR, he responded: “I can’t even get in the door. Tell somebody to bring some lock cutters with them because I don’t have my keys.”
The dispatcher asked Richard if he knew who shot his family, to which he said: “No like I said, I am, I don’t know, the door’s shut up, everything is shut up, oh my gosh,” according to the television station.
The elder Hawks usually close the gun store by 5:30 p.m. and return home by 6 p.m. When they failed to come home, Richard drove to the business.
That the business was locked at the time the bodies were discovered may be useful evidence for investigators. Authorities say the perpetrator or perpetrators stole around 40 weapons as well as a DVR that stored footage from security cameras.
An ATF expert told WXIA-TV that whoever is responsible was “either familiar with the location because they have been in there multiple times or they had some other sort of inside knowledge about what was going on inside that store,” according to the television station.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
Meanwhile, the family held memorial services for the victims on Thursday, according to WAGA-TV. A funeral was held at Unity Baptist Church in Newnan and the remains were buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Family members talked with WXIA-TV about the victims.
“Tommy, and Evelyn and Luke were just Christian, hard-working, wonderful people. 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,” Wright told WXIA-TV.
Luke’s uncle, Ron Whitlock, added that the family is praying both for justice and for the people who killed their loved ones.
“We’re praying for the redemption of the perpetrators who did this horrible thing, and our prayers are with them, that they may find forgiveness, as well. That was the kind of people they (Tommy, Evelyn and Luke) are,” Whitlock told the television station.
To report information about the case, call 1-888-ATF-TIPS.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
