UPDATED: Bank Robbery Suspect Shot Dead, Officer Injured

UPDATED: June 16, 2014 at 4:20 p.m.

A suspected bank robber was shot dead and an officer injured during a June 16 incident at a Wells Fargo bank on Lawrenceville Highway.

According to Gwinnett County Police Public Information Officer Cpl. Ed Ritter, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Wells Fargo bank on Lawrenceville Highway in Lawrenceville just after 9 a.m. Monday.

The first arriving officer was informed the suspect, later identified as 24-year-old John Schneider of Lawrenceville, was seen running toward Bethesda Church Road with an undisclosed amount of money. A few minutes later, an officer encountered Schneider behind Bethesda Methodist Church.

"The officer challenged the suspect to show him his hands. The suspect refused to comply with the officer's commands, charged the officer and struck the officer in the head with a blunt object," Ritter explained. 

The officer fell to the ground and the suspect allegedly continued to hit him with an object police say was an Airsoft gun, identical to a long barrel revolver and believed to be the same weapon used in the armed robbery.

"The officer was able to unholster his firearm and fired several rounds at the suspect. The suspect was hit multiple times and died on scene after being shot by the officer," Ritter said.

The money taken from the bank was recovered at the scene of the shooting.

The officer was transported to the hospital for treatment of a deep laceration to his head and was later released. 

The officer-involved shooting is under investigation by the Deadly Force Investigation Team. The Gwinnett County Police Robbery Unit will continue to investigate the armed robbery.

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