Four male juveniles, ages 14-17, were charged Thursday with armed robbery and aggravated assault in an attempted robbery at Regal Jewelers in Shannon Mall.

The four South Atlanta males, unnamed at press time, are being charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault in the incident, according to Union City police spokesman Sgt. George Louth. The charges are preliminary at this point, said Louth, and may be included with additional city offenses. The juveniles may be charged as adults pending a decision by District Attorney’s office, he said.

Louth said Union City Police received a call at 11:15 a.m. reporting that shots had been fired inside Shannon Mall. Louth confirmed Friday that an exchange of gunfire had occurred during the incident though no bystanders were injured. Two mall store clerks were exposed to Mace by the perpetrators, he said.

As the incident unfolded Thursday, Louth said multiple calls began coming in stating taht shots had been fired, along with reports of a robbery. As units were being dispatched, a mall maintenance employee called in a rough description of the perpetrators and good description of their vehicle and the direction it was traveling as they left the area.

Louth said the vehicle was spotted just minutes later at Oakley Road and Flat Shoals Road. The officer who located the vehicle turned around and turned on his blue lights, only to see the perpetrator’s vehicle run off the roadway and strike a tree, Louth said. The four males in the wrecked vehicle experienced various injuries and were transported to Grady Hospital, he said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, Louth added, though one of the males is in the intensive care unit for precautionary reasons.

The incident is still under investigation so other city charges may be forthcoming, Louth said. Officers also determined that the vehicle had been stolen, indicating, he said, that additional charges relating to the vehicle may result.

Louth said time frame of the incident, from the initial call from Shannon Mall to the vehicle’s crash into the tree, was four minutes.

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