Authorities hunt for three siblings accused in crime spree

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Authorities were searching for three siblings on Friday they said were on a "violent mission" after allegedly shooting at a Florida police car and robbing a south Georgia bank.

A U.S. magistrate judge on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, and Lee Grace E. Dougherty, 29, in connection with the August 2 robbery of a bank in Valdosta, Georgia.

"Understand that these fugitives are on a violent mission and must be stopped by any means possible before they harm another innocent person or a law enforcement officer," a Florida sheriff and police chief said in a joint statement.

In Georgia, one of the suspects carried an AK-47 assault rifle as they entered the bank dressed in black and wearing masks, a statement from the FBI in Atlanta said.

Shots were fired at the ceiling, and everyone in the bank was ordered to get down. The three suspects escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, the FBI said.

They were last seen in a white, four-door 2006 Subaru Impreza, with the New York license tag FBE 5900, the FBI said.

The siblings are also suspected of shooting at a Zephyrhills, Florida police officer's patrol vehicle earlier that same day.

The officer was in pursuit of a white, four-door car for speeding when suspects inside the car shot at the officer and disabled the patrol vehicle. The officer was not hurt.

The FBI said the siblings should be considered armed and dangerous.

(Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Johnston)