Marietta police subdue ax wielding, shoplifting suspect with beanbags

MARIETTA, Ga. — Saturday afternoon presented a few challenges for some Marietta police officers responding to a shoplifting call.

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When they responded to the call at a store on Cobb Parkway and confronted a man they believed was the suspect, police said he tried to ignore them and kept walking away.

Officers said that was when they realized the man had an ax and a hatchet in his hands. They said he changed his grip, holding the handles like he was going to use them to attack.

The officers said the man walked down the street near a car dealership where he was getting close to multiple people on the lot looking at cars for sale.

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They went on to say that after the man refused commands to drop the weapon, they decided the safest way to control the situation was to fire multiple, less lethal beanbag shotgun rounds at the suspect until he dropped the ax and hatchet.

The officers identified the suspect as Zaki Koonce and arrested him without any further incident. Koonce was checked and treated at the hospital for the beanbag shots and was transported to the Cobb County Jail. He is facing charges of shoplifting, obstruction, reckless conduct and being a pedestrian in the roadway.

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