Gwinnett police identify alleged bank robber shot during struggle with officer

LAWRENCEVILLE - As Gwinnett County police continued their investigation into a bank robbery in Lawrenceville Monday morning, they released the deceased suspect's name.<br /> <br /> Cpl. Edwin Ritter said officers were called to the Wells Fargo branch on Lawrenceville Highway near Bethesda Church Road just after 9:00 a.m. The suspect was able to get cash from a teller at the bank.<br /> <br /> Police responded and started looking for the suspect.<br /> <br /> "He (officer) found the suspect behind the church, it's a Methodist church on Bethesda Church Road," Ritter told Fox 5.<br /> <br /> Investigators said the suspect, identified as 24-year-old John Schneider of Lawrenceville, refused to show the officer his hands. That's when a struggle ensued, the officer falling to the ground at one point, according to police.<br /> <br /> "The suspect hit the officer possibly with the gun he was armed with. The officer was then forced to shoot the suspect," Ritter told Fox 5.<br /> <br /> Police Monday afternoon said the gun Schneider hit the officer with was an Airsoft handgun that looked like a long-barrel revolver. Investigators believe the same gun was used in the robbery.<br /> <br /> The officer was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center for treatment of a deep cut to his head and was later released from the hospital. <br /> <br /> Officers recovered the money stolen from the bank at the scene of the shooting.<br /> <br /> The Deadly Force Investigation Team, comprised of investigators from the Gwinnett Police Homicide Unit, Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office, Crime Scene Unit and Office of Professional Standards will investigate the officer-involved shooting portion of the case.<br /> <br /> The Gwinnett Police Robbery Unit will continue to investigate the actual armed robbery.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/6/276115