UPDATE 1:49 PM 9/7/20: Spanish Fort Police Department discovered 10 additional guns inside Robert Smith’s Grove Hill home. Police say they found more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition as well.
The Baldwin County Jail log lists Smith’s charges as assault second degree, discharge of a firearm into an occupied dwelling or vehicle, reckless endangerment, and resisting arrest.
UPDATE 12:10 PM 9/7/20: 38-year-old Robert Smith was booked into the Baldwin County jail just after noon Monday. The entry is so new, a mugshot has not yet been posted, nor does it list other pertinent information like bond amount or charges.
UPDATE 11:50 AM 9/6/20: Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber identified the suspect in the Bass Pro shooting as 38-year-old Robert Smith a black male from the Grove Hill area. Barber says Smith is being treated for a medical condition at present not related to his arrest. He says the second person taken into custody Saturday, a woman, has been released and there are no charges pending for that person at this time.
“It does not appear she was assisting him, it appears the actions she was taking trying to prevent him from continuing on from what he was doing,” said Barber. The chief said Smith came armed with hundreds of rounds of ammo, several different firearms and was wearing body armor.
“He had three AR-style weapons, he had an AR-style pistol, he had a 9 mm rifle, a shotgun, and two 9 mm pistols,” said Barber describing the weapons they say Smith came with. Barber said they don’t have an exact count right now on how many shots were fired but they recovered at least 30 casings so far and believe they came from at least three different weapons. Barber said not a single shot was fired by SFPD, they subdued the suspect with a Taser.
They’re still trying to determine what motivated the shooting. The chief says the two were passing through from Florida but it’s not clear why Smith stopped at the outdoor mega-retailer. At this point Barber says they’re certain, based on the suspect’s actions and tools, they averted what could have been a tragic mass shooting.
“This could have been a completely different incident than what it was, the officers responded quickly they were able to stop this from becoming a huge tragedy, it’s our impression he went to the employee side, where the boat repair is perhaps he didn’t know where the front entrance was,” said Barber. Today they’re carrying out a warrant at the suspect’s home in Clarke County. They’re still working on charges but Smith likely faces 2nd-degree assault for injuring an officer, reckless endangerment, and resisting arrest according to Barber.
“Normal people don’t do what he did yesterday, so that had to be some underlying factor but we are trying to determine that at this point,” said the chief.
UPDATE (9:03 PM) — Spanish Fort Police Department say an officer received minor injuries while taking one of the suspects into custody.
The officer was treated for those injuries and released, per police.
UPDATE (6:06 PM) — WKRG News 5 was able to capture the extent of the damage to the Bass Pro Shop after Saturday’s shooting incident in Spanish Fort.
The gunshots shattered some parts of the Bass Pro Shop’s glass door causing bullet holes. This door is used as an entrance to its boat service parts.
UPDATE (4:10 PM) — A Spanish Fort detective confirms a second suspect was arrested.
UPDATE (09/05/2020 2:10 PM) — According to a witness, shots were fired at the outdoor area and doors were closed in time; so he was unable to get inside. The shooter was tased and did not go down immediately.
“I was on my phone with my wife and I said ‘oh my God he’s right in front of me…He was put down but thankfully not shot. He shot at least fifty times and reloaded.”
UPDATE (09/05/2020 1:30 PM) — Baldwin County Sheriff’s Officer Tweeted:
ORIGINAL STORY
SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) — According to Police Chief John Barber, shots were fired outside of the Bass Pro Shop. Barber said to his understanding, “this was not an active shooting.”
One person is in custody and no one was injured.
There is no further information at this time. WKRG News 5 will update you as more information becomes available.
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