Police Shooting In Thornton CO; 2 Thornton police officers shot during standoff, suspect dead: A heavy police presence descended on a Thornton neighbourhood early Wednesday and surrounded a home after officers reacted to a report of rounds fired inside the residence.
Two officers were shot during the incident. The suspect was also shot and killed. “Our community has been shocked by the events that occurred this morning,” Greg Reeves, acting chief of police for the Thornton Police Department, said in a press conference Wednesday morning, following the standoff.
Reeves said the Thornton Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in a home in the 16000 block of Columbine Street around 8 a.m. A resident walking their dog noticed faint smoke and heard shooting, and alerted them. Police surrounded the home and sought to contact anybody inside. Reeves stated that around 9 a.m., a man exited the home with a long gun and began firing at the cops.
Two officers were injured and had non-life-threatening injuries, though it is unclear whether they were hit directly by bullets or shrapnel. They were brought to two different neighbouring hospitals and are now in stable condition. Officers returned fire, and Reeves believes they hit the man. The SWAT squad came on the spot and utilised a drone to inspect the interior of the residence.
When SWAT established there was a male inside the house, the team entered and discovered the man had died. It is unclear if the individual died as a result of police bullet wounds or self-inflicted injuries. The man’s identify will likewise not be disclosed awaiting investigations and identification. The man was the only person in the house.
A neighbour informed The Denver Gazette that they suspect the man experienced a mental health crisis after his father died, but they are unsure. The area of East 160th Place and Columbine Street in the Orchard Farms neighbourhood was closed off until approximately 10:30 a.m., when police cleared the scene.
“It’s just a little surreal,” Aaron Lundblade, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 2019, said while standing in a lush green park surrounded by bigger, larger homes. “[The neighbourhood] is relaxed. There isn’t much craziness going on here. Every year, we spend our holidays here in this park… I could absolutely see how this could upset some individuals.
Lundblade recounted hearing a slew of sirens near his home as he prepared for the day. He looked out the window and noticed a queue of police cars and fire trucks. After riding his bike over, he noticed about five officers kneeling behind their trucks, each holding an AR-15 gun.
“You always see it on the news, and you believe it will never happen here, particularly in this neighbourhood. Then it happened a block away from your home. “It was insane,” Lundblade stated. The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office’s Critical event Response Team (CIRT) will now investigate the event, according to Reeves.
