Local police agencies continue to look for the three suspects accused of robbing A.C. Automotive at gunpoint and then fleeing the scene to the Tennessee State line.

An Oak Grove Police unit pulled over a vehicle driven by 23-year old Joseph Marshall Brown of Hopkinsville on I-24 near the state line around 5:15. Brown and the other three occupants got out of the vehicle and ran. At least one of the suspects shot at the officer and the officer returned fire, though no one was hit in the shootout.

Police were able to apprehend Brown, who is charged with 1^st degree robbery. The other three men remain at large. The chain of events began just before 5pm at A.C. Automotive on E. 9^th St. just across from Haddock’s Grocery, when the four black males wearing hoodies and masks over their face allegedly demanded cash and the cell phones from two male victims.

The perpetrators also allegedly “pistol whipped” the victims before fleeing the scene in a red car.

The manhunt extended into Clarksville and into the late evening hours, with several agencies involved. Hopkinsvlle Police Chief Guy Howie praised all of those agencies and said the cooperation was better than he could have ever hoped for.

Chief Howie says an extra ingredient of danger to the public enters the situation when a suspect is willing to fire at police officers.

Anyone with information on the incident or on the suspects’ whereabouts is asked to call the Crime Stoppers tips line at 887-TIPS. Clarksville Police are also on the lookout for the men and urge the public to call police if they see any suspicious activity.

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01/31/2012/AM