AURORA, Colo. — Denver7 is pressing the Aurora Police Department for answers after an officer shot and killed a teen boy who allegedly called 911 and threatened to shoot up a business.
The incident happened Thursday evening at a Conoco gas station in the 200 block of South Havana Street near East Alameda Avenue.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said this "tragedy" began when the suspect in this case called 911 around 7:30 p.m. and told the operator that he had a gun and planned to "shoot up" the business and the surrounding area. He also reportedly told the 911 operator that the gun was in his waistband and he wanted to shoot at police.
Around 7:40 p.m., Aurora 911 received a call from the gas station owner, who said he had locked himself inside his business due to "suspicious activity" happening outside.
Chamberlain said three of his officers arrived at the scene around 7:42 p.m., set up on the far side of the gas station, and came out with their weapons, which included a rifle, a pistol and a "less lethal tool" known as a 40mm that shoots rubber projectiles.
According to the police chief, the officers moved around the corner and spotted the suspect on the island on the far side of the business. Chamberlain described the suspect as "almost waiting for the officers" and said the suspect had his hands concealed.
The suspect began to approach officers, who used the 40mm to stop him, according to Chamberlain. The tool "had no impact," and one of the officers ultimately shot the suspect with their service weapon.
The suspect was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Chamberlain identified the suspect as a white male, roughly 17 years old.
Aurora
Aurora officer kills teen who allegedly threatened to 'shoot up' business
In Aurora, there are two teams dedicated to helping people who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis: the Aurora Mobile Response Team (AMRT) and the Crisis Response Team (CRT).
The Aurora Mobile Response Team is an unarmed, non-sworn unit that responds to behavioral health calls for service without law enforcement. The Crisis Response Team, meanwhile, consists of a mental health professional (licensed/eligible clinicians) who are paired with a CIT-trained sworn member to provide trauma-informed intervention services to individuals in a behavioral health crisis.
When asked if there was any thought about deploying a mental health team to the scene, Chamberlain said mental health officers "keyed their radio" that they were responding around 7:41 p.m., but there "wasn't a huge opportunity to do any kind of intervention, any kind of crisis intervention" due to the potential for violence.
This deadly shooting is the second in less than three weeks for the Aurora Police Department and the fifth so far this year, according to the department. There were five police shootings in Aurora all of last year, and two such shootings in 2023.
On Friday, Denver7 spoke with MiDian Shofner, the CEO for the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, and a critic of APD. She told Denver7 she feels there needs to be a change within the department.
"What we would like to see from the Aurora Police Department is a true, intentional way in which they are going to allow for the community to inform how you serve us," Shofner said. "It is clear that there is a complete disconnect on what it looks like to protect and what it looks like what the police are doing currently."
"It's arbitrary. It's on repeat, so it's not okay," Shofner went on to say. "We need reform, and we need change, and we know that it starts with the community."
The 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) was activated and will investigate the shooting. The officer who fired their weapon has been with the department for "a number of years," according to Chamberlain, and was placed on paid administrative leave, per department protocol.
