Two LaGrange men suffered gunshot wounds after three masked men invaded an apartment this morning with pistols and an assault rifle that malfunctioned.

Samuel Reynolds, 26, of Park Place, was in stable condition at Columbus Regional Medical Center with a leg injury. Jerome Giles Jr., 31, of Heritage Road was treated at West Georgia Medical Center for an arm injury. Both were shot once with a pistol.

Reynolds was playing cards with Giles about 12:30 a.m. in his Laurel Crossing Apartments residence at 1700 Park Place while his roommate, Deaundre Thornton, 28, was sleeping in another room.

There was a knock on the door. Reynolds hesitantly opened the door and three gunmen barged in.

Two of robbers held the pair at gunpoint and while the other armed with an assault rifle searched each room, finding Thornton in his bedroom.

Thornton fought back when faced with the assault rifle, police detective Brian Brown said.

“During the struggle, the gunman attempted to discharge a round in the rifle, but for whatever reason, it malfunctioned,” Brown said. “It appeared to be jammed. Though we can’t say for sure, it looked like the intention was there to shoot him.”

The other gunmen stole an undisclosed amount of money from the residents and shot Giles and Thornton with pistols. The robbers then fled on foot. Police have no suspects or leads.

Thornton was treated at West Georgia Medical Center for a hand injury and released.

“At this point, we can only speculate about the motive,” Brown said.

— Anyone with more information was asked to call Crime Stoppers at (706) 812-1000 or LaGrange police at (706) 883-2605.

Kenneth Thompson can be reached at kethompson@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311.