SAN MARCOS – What started as a robbery at an Academy Sports + Outdoors store in San Marcos sent many in a panic after seeing the suspect load an air gun in front of the business, according to San Marcos police.
Officers were called to the store, located on Barnes Drive, after a man went inside and stole three CO2 pistols, or air guns that shoot pellets, police said.
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The man then left the store, stopped near the front door and began loading the pellets into the air pistols, according to SMPD.
Witnesses in the area called police, stating that a man was in the parking lot, trying to load a gun near the store.
Store employees evacuated customers through an exit in the back of the store. As officers were making their way to the scene, the man went back inside the store.
An off-duty officer, who wasn’t far from the store’s entrance, went inside and stopped the man, according to SMPD.
No injuries were reported and the man was arrested on a charge of aggravated robbery.