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Three Shooting Victims in Danville Identified, Police Release Description of Suspect

The two owners of a Danville pawn shop and a third person were shot to death at the downtown store Friday, and police continued to search for a suspect.

The morning shootings prompted officials to put local schools and nearby Centre College on lockdown and urge residents to stay away from downtown.

Three people died of gunshot wounds at the ABC Gold, Games and More store during what police suspect was a robbery, Danville Police Chief Tony Gray said in an interview with the Advocate-Messenger in Danville.

Gray said a 9-year-old child and an 18-month-old were also in the store at the time of the shootings, though neither was harmed. Gray said the older child called 911 after the shootings around 9 a.m. CDT.

The children were placed with grandparents, Gray said Friday afternoon.

The shooting victims were pawn shop owners Michael and Angela Hockensmith, Boyle County Coroner Don Hamner told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Gray said the third victim was Daniel P. Smith, 60, of Richmond.

Gray said officials are looking for a 40- to 50-year-old heavy-set white man wearing a green camouflage-type jacket. The man apparently exited through a garage door in the back and went through the alley between the pawn shop and another business, Gray said. Anyone who saw anything was asked to call Danville police.

The store was locked when police arrived and officers had to break in. When they got inside they saw three bodies and the two children.

Centre College officials were notified by police before noon that they could lift the lockdown on campus.

"It looked like a ghost town for a while on campus," said Centre communications director Michael Strysick. He said students were told to stay indoors for about two hours Friday morning.

Strysick said the campus had been celebrating family weekend and was expecting hundreds of parents to visit.

Other schools in the area were also given the all-clear, because police felt like it was an isolated incident, Gray said.

Kentucky State Police detective have been processing the crime scene, Gray said.