Search continues after suspect in Smyrna silent alarm call evades police

Thursday’s search for an armed suspect who ran from a Smyrna check cashing store after police responded to a silent alarm call, leading to gunfire but no injuries, has entered its second day.

“After thoroughly searching the area, the male was unable to be located,” Smyrna police said in a statement Friday morning.

A Cobb County SWAT unit and Smyrna police shut down Spring Road near the Battery for hours Thursday after officers responded to the call and encountered a suspect at the scene around 9:30 a.m. That led to an officer firing at the man, though no injuries were reported, police said.

A Loomis truck was surrounded by Smyrna police vehicles on Spring Road.

The suspect ran from the scene in the 2600 block of Spring Road, prompting a manhunt involving Smyrna and Cobb officers, police said. Officials initially believed the man ran into a Quiktrip next door to the check cashing store, but that building was cleared by a SWAT unit. The glass front door of the check cashing store was broken out.

A Quiktrip on Spring Road in Smyrna was the site of heavy police activity.

Images from NewsChopper 2 showed more than a dozen police vehicles clustered around an armored Loomis truck used to transport cash. Police did not say if the truck was involved in the incident.

Cobb police confirmed they responded to a request for assistance from Smyrna police and dispatched their SWAT unit, which was training nearby.

A check cashing store had its glass front door broken out.

Around noon Thursday, officers continued their search at a Residence Inn on Cumberland Boulevard. By 3 p.m., the roads in the area had been reopened and media was sent away.

Police said Friday they were “actively working the case and following up on all leads.”

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspect is asked to contact Detective Brian Pyle at bpyle@smyrnaga.gov.