CUMMING — Authorities are looking for two suspects following a shooting Monday morning at a home near Lake Lanier northeast of Cumming.

According to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, a woman was shot three times, including at least once in the stomach, after she encountered the suspects robbing her house and exchanged gunfire with them.

“We have a female that has been shot off Magnolia Avenue,” said Doug Rainwater, a spokesman for the agency. “She has been transported to a hospital for her wounds. She has been shot more than once.

“She was conscious and sharing that information with us here at the scene.”

The woman underwent surgery for her wounds Monday afternoon. Authorities have not released her name, saying only that she is an older woman.

According to Rainwater, the woman had been asleep at the time of the incident.

“From what the investigation has revealed, she was awakened from noise and either came out or they went into her bedroom,” Rainwater said. “She either had a gun with her or retrieved a gun and shot back.”

Rainwater said investigators spent much of the day at the home. The suspects have been described only as a black man and woman. Both remain at large.

Authorities do not know if the suspects were wounded in the shootout, however, they have “zero reason to believe” they are still in the area,” Rainwater said.

According to Rainwater, they were last seen driving away from the area, though authorities do not have a description of the getaway vehicle.

Rainwater added that investigators are treating the situation as a burglary gone wrong and probably won’t have any leads on the suspects unless someone with information about them comes forward.

Violent crime is not common in Forsyth County, where news of the incident surprised neighbors.

Dipali Faldu, who lives on Magnolia Avenue, a heavily wooded residential area near the lake, said the low local crime rate was a reason for moving to Forsyth.

“It’s a pretty good neighborhood,” she said. “It’s quiet and people are like families and they know each other, and every time you need help you go knock on the door.

“[This shooting is] very surprising. I’ve been here about a year and a half and I’ve never heard of anything happening as far as crime.”

Rainwater also called the event a “rarity for the county,” saying he couldn’t recall the last time a case like this actually happened.

Faldu praised law enforcement officers for their prompt response.

“It’s quiet [here],” she said. “Everybody knows everybody … If there’s strange people walking around that they see, and I have noticed a few times that they did see somebody around and called Forsyth County [Sheriff’s Office], they came by right away.

“They make you feel secure.”