AURORA, Colo. — Aurora police are investigating a shooting that killed a 20-year-old woman and a 1-year-old child and wounded a 44-year-old woman during a family dispute Saturday morning. Police said the suspect is dead.
The shooting was reported just before 10:30 a.m. in the 10300 block of E. Evans Avenue. Police said at least four people were involved in the shooting, including the male suspect.
Two of the shooting victims — the 20-year-old woman and the 1-year-old girl — were transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Aurora police confirmed later in the day that the two female victims had succumbed to their injuries.
A third victim — a 44-year-old woman — was treated for a gunshot wound to the hand, according to police. She is expected to recover.
Police said the 19-year-old male suspect “was located by officers and was dead on arrival.” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said the suspect appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found inside the apartment unit.
Neighbors at the Little Turtle Townhomes are in a state of shock, but are ready to help the 44-year-old woman with whatever she may need.
“You’re used to hearing about shootings being at open places and malls or, you know, movie theaters or restaurants or whatever. But I didn’t ever think that that would happen over here, but I don’t think that really, anybody is prepared for that,” said Kamm Lavene, a neighbor. “Hopeful that we could be there for the person and or family members that are — if they do decide to stay — that we’ll be here to help them out.”
The victims and the suspect are known to each other, police said in a social media post. Chamberlain stressed that this incident was not a random shooting and is believed to be a family-related domestic violence incident.
“The one thing I do want to make sure that we are aware of this was not just a random act. This was something that was specifically done within this family. So as tragic as it is, I want the community as a whole to realize that there’s not something else that’s going on out there beyond what we had with this domestic violence issue or this issue that we had in this house,” Chamberlain said during a press conference Saturday.
He said the investigation into the circumstances that led up to the shooting will be lengthy. The scene will be meticulously processed, and interviews with hospital staff and witnesses will be conducted.
“We want to look at what occurred at this house prior to what the environment has been in this house. Has there been law enforcement intervention? Has there been other types of intervention that has occurred around this location? Is this a history in this house?” he said.
The names of those involved have not been released.
