Cobb County police are warning people not to confront suspects if they witness a crime. This comes after a dangerous scene unfolded in front of a local business.
Police issued an alert Wednesday warning people not to try to stop any vehicle break-ins they witness because the burglars could be armed.
"It looked to me like he had a screwdriver and put it in and pulled down on it," said robbery victim Terry Prather.
Prather showed Channel 2's Matt Belanger the damage to the driver-side door handle of his pickup after two men broke into his truck and one other in the parking lot of his business off of Discovery Boulevard Tuesday afternoon.
"Police said since they were breaking into pickup trucks that they were probably looking for people with guns," Prather said.
Belanger obtained this surveillance video, which shows the thieves in a blue truck backing into a parking space.
Within seconds, the two men broke into both trucks, triggering their security alarms. Employees rushed out and tried to stop the men.
Prather said as the men drove off, one pulled out a gun.
"This guy went up another 50 yards, stuck a pistol out of the window and pulled the trigger twice," Prather said.
"All of a sudden, I heard 'boom, boom,'" said witness Allison Richardson.
Richardson works nearby and heard the shots.
"It's scary because it could happen again," Richardson said. "I just didn't think it would happen during the day here."
The thieves didn't get much, just some paperwork and change.
Matthew Pulliam owns the other pickup broken into. He didn't hear the gunshots, but the surveillance video shows Pulliam got into his truck and chased the suspects for about a mile.
"As you are following them, what's going through your mind?" Belanger asked Pulliam.
"I was just hoping I could be of some assistance to the police," Pulliam said.
Pulliam told Belanger he feels lucky he wasn't hurt.
"When I found out there were gunshots, if I knew that, I told them I would have stopped at the end of the street," Pulliam said.
Police believe the same thieves are also responsible for a similar armed vehicle break-in that happened about a mile from away on Lee Industrial Boulevard.
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