ATLANTA — Atlanta police said officers arrested three people who tried to smash their way inside a Buckhead department store.Officers said they caught the burglars at the Nordstrom Rack store in the Buckhead Station Shopping Center just west of Georgia 400 early Wednesday morning.

Police said someone tried to throw a brick through the front door of the store on Tuesday, but didn’t get in. Early Wednesday morning, three people tried to do the same thing at the same store and got caught, police said.Atlanta Police Department officials said an officer was assigned to patrol the shopping centers around Buckhead because of recent smash-and-grabs in the area.Police said three people had a pile of rocks sitting at the front door of the Nordstrom Rack store and were about to break inside when an officer noticed their truck in the parking lot and thought it looked suspicious.The officer kept an eye on it and called for back-up, police said.“The individual spotted the officer and he hid behind the truck.

The officer approached and they all took off running,” said Capt. Van Hobbs of the Atlanta Police Department.Officers chased and arrested all three people. Police said they believe the people could be connected to an attempted break-in at the same store Tuesday.“We’re going to see if we can get any video to see if these are the same individuals involved in last night’s attempt,” said Hobbs.