DULUTH, Ga. — Two people are in custody after a high-speed chase through Duluth led police to a stolen gun linked to a Lawrenceville gun store burglary last week where more than 30 guns were stolen, according to police.
A Duluth police officer was watching at a gun store on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. on June 24 when he saw two cars drive up to Gun Lobby at around 5 a.m.
When the officer turned on his police lights, a dash-camera video showed when both drivers took off.
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Police told Channel 2 Gwinett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that they thought the drivers were going to take whatever they could at Gun Lobby.
With word out that gun thieves were on the loose, police officers were already on alert and had increased patrols after a previous break-in at Bullseye Gun Shop & Range the day before.
A pursuit that reached 110 miles per hour along Peachtree Industrial Blvd. early that Saturday morning ended shortly after the 23-year-old suspect, Aaron Walker of Augusta, got out of a white sedan and ran into the woods, according to police.
A Gwinnett County Police K9 unit was called in to assist and found Walker in a neighborhood nearby. A 16-year-old suspect was arrested in a nearby Norcross neighborhood.
Police found a handgun on the teen that they say was stolen from Bullseye. Investigators also found a sledgehammer.
Lawrenceville Police and Duluth Police began cooperating on a joint investigation after the arrests and charged the teen with burglary and gun charges. Channel 2 Action News also learned Walker faces charges for eluding police.
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“They stole 31 weapons, so obviously it was crucial to get these suspects,” Duluth Police Department Cpl. Ted Sadowski told Channel 2 Action News.
Only one gun was recovered after the chase, leaving local investigators and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searching for the other weapons reported stolen from the Lawrenceville business.
“We do know that those weapons will end up likely being recovered,” Cpt. Salvador Ortega, Lawrenceville Police Department, said, “but our goal is to recover them before they are used in the commission of another crime.”
It remains an active investigation and Duluth police say operations to catch gun thieves won’t stop after these arrests.
Police said some of the stolen guns were fully automatic. Anyone with information is urged to call the authorities.
“These will continue since there’s more rings out there of criminals doing this,” Sadowski said. “This isn’t the only one.”
Among the southeast United States, Georgia has the highest number of firearm thefts, with storefronts, offices, and single-family homes having the highest percentage.
Between 2017 to 2021, Georgia reported about 2,200 gun thefts had occurred.
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