In Aurora, Colorado, a man who was armed and had a significant criminal record was shot and wounded by Aurora police officers on Thanksgiving. The police chief of APD revealed during a press briefing that the man immediately opened fire on the officers who had responded to reports of shots fired.
The suspect, who was not identified during the news conference, was struck in the arm and taken into custody last Thursday.
On Thursday around 9:25 p.m., four 911 calls were made reporting gunfire near an apartment complex located in the 900 block of South Dawson Way.
The police chief, Todd Chamberlain, stated that the individual emerged from one of the apartments, proceeded to the parking lot, and began firing multiple gunshots in and around the vicinity of the apartment complex.
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Aurora officers responded, finding the suspect near S Sable Boulevard and E Kentucky Drive.
“Officers saw the suspect, made the tactical decision to coordinate, to take cover behind the apartment complex,” added Chamberlain, who said the officers attempted to de-escalate the situation. “A myriad of different things to try and take this individual into custody peacefully and without further incident.”
Chief Chamberlain said at that point, the suspect became aware of the officers.
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“The officers made contact with them verbally and informed them that they were the police and to please go ahead and put up his hands and move towards them,” said Chamberlain. “That suspect almost immediately turned on the officers and fired multiple rounds in the officers’ directions.”
During the press conference, APD showed a photo of a police unit that had been struck by a round in its hood. “There were actually officers in that police vehicle at that time,” said Chamberlain. “The possibility of threat to them, for harm to them, was incredibly intense.”
During the exchange of gunfire, the suspect was struck in the arm and fell to the ground where he was taken into custody. No APD officers were injured in the shooting.
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Chief Chamberlain showed a photo of the suspect’s weapon which held an extended magazine capable of holding up to 30 rounds of ammunition.
“The weapon was empty, he ran out of ammunition,” said Chamberlain, but it was unclear how many rounds had been fired. “Our officers didn’t shy away from that gunfire, instead they moved towards that gunfire as they followed that individual down the street as he fired more rounds,” said Chamberlain.
The suspect’s criminal history includes prior arrests for attempted homicide and robbery.
Following Thursday’s shooting, the suspect faces 5 counts of attempted homicide on a police officer. APD previously said six officers were involved in the incident and were placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy.
An internal APD review and standard external investigation by the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office are ongoing, according to Chamberlain.
