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Teen suspect dies after allegedly shooting at Aurora officer in road rage incident

S. Elkhart/S. Fairplay aurora police swat
Posted at 7:42 AM, Nov 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-04 09:42:42-04

AURORA, Colo. — A teenager who had barricaded himself in an Aurora apartment Thursday was found dead after a road rage incident in which he allegedly shot at a police officer.

The Aurora Police Department said the incident started around 8 a.m. Thursday in a fast food parking lot near E. Mississippi Avenue and S. Chambers Road in Aurora. An Aurora police officer, who was off duty at the time but in her uniform, was driving in her own car when the driver of a red Toyota sedan exiting a drive-thru line cut her off. She honked her horn, police said.

The officer then drove out of the parking lot, headed southbound on Chambers toward Mississippi. The driver in the Ford drove across opposing lanes of traffic to again cut off the officer, police said. The officer drove westbound on Mississippi toward Interstate 225 with the Ford driver behind.

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The officer pulled onto southbound I-225, police said.

The driver of the Ford, while driving south on the highway between E. Mississippi Avenue and E. Iliff Avenue, pulled up next to the officer's driver's side window. A passenger in the front seat of the Ford rolled down a window, leaned out of the car and fired multiple rounds at the officer, police said.

She was not injured and called 911 with the Ford's license plate number.

Multiple patrol officers responded to the address registered to the vehicle, which was along the 1000 block of S. Elkhart Way. Police located the driver, a 26-year-old man, and took him into custody. He has not been identified.

His passenger, the suspected shooter, barricaded himself in a third-story apartment at The Preserve at City Center apartments, located near S. Elkhart Street and E. Mississippi Avenue, police said.

A reverse 911 call was sent to residents in the complex, telling them to shelter in place. About an hour later, all apartments near the one the suspect was inside were evacuated.

Police, SWAT, and crisis negotiations teams attempted to contact the suspect but were unable to do so. At 10:24 a.m., officers fired a 40mm foam pistol projectile against the apartment's siding to try to get the suspect to respond. Shortly afterward, officers heard a gunshot from inside the apartment.

At 2:20 p.m., SWAT entered the apartment and found the suspect dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Police said they believe the suspect was a 16-year-old. He has not been identified.

Officers recovered several shell casings consistent with the weapon recovered from the apartment, the police department said.

No other details were available as of Friday morning.