AURORA, Colo. — A runaway teen who fled the scene of an alleged hit-and-run crash at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora Tuesday morning was detained Wednesday afternoon following an hourslong standoff with officers outside his mother's home.
The teen, who was only identified as a 17-year-old boy, was wanted by Aurora police after forcing Cherokee Trail High School and Fox Ridge Middle School to go on secure status and implement a controlled release of students Tuesday out of an abundance of caution.
Police told Denver7 the teen had stolen his mother’s vehicle the night before and was “driving erratically in the parking lot” of the school before fleeing after hitting a driver who was dropping off their child at school Tuesday morning.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aurora police reported they were responding to a “wanted party potentially in crisis” at an apartment complex on E. Easter Drive near the intersection with E. Arapahoe Road and E. Roxbury Drive in southeast Aurora.
In an update later Wednesday, Aurora Police Deputy Chief Michael Gaskill confirmed the wanted party was the same teen wanted in connection with the hit-and-run at Cherokee Trail High School a day prior.
Gaskill said Aurora police received a call from the teen’s mother, alerting them he had returned home and was throwing items around the house, outside of a window and onto a balcony.
Police arrived at the scene and tried to talk with the boy, according to Gaskill, but several attempts to make contact yielded no results.
“At one point, the teenager came out to the balcony of the residence and started throwing what officers believed to be Molotov cocktails off the balcony,” Gaskill said, adding the APD’s SWAT Team was then called to handle the situation.
The hourslong standoff ended when the teen “came out without incident and gave up,” Gaskill said.
The teen, whose identity will not be released because he is a juvenile, is now facing several charges, including unlawful display of a weapon on school grounds, criminal mischief, items related to hit-and-run, and reckless driving, Gaskill said, adding the teen will be transferred to the Aurora Detention Center.
No officers were injured during the operation, the APD deputy chief added.
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