A more than year-long hunt for a suspected gunman in a south Aurora convenience-store shooting is over. Authorities on Tuesday arrested 49-year-old Michael Smith in Denver, accusing him of opening fire outside a 7‑Eleven on May 31, 2024, in an attack that wounded store employee Amber Mosley and her 17-year-old son.
Federal and local officers tracked Smith down in Denver and took him into custody on an attempted first-degree murder warrant tied to the late-night shooting outside the Aurora store. Mosley and her son were hospitalized after the attack, and the family later launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover mounting medical bills.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, members of its Colorado Violent Offender Task Force located Smith near 14th and Milwaukee streets in Denver on June 2 and safely arrested him. Deputy marshals transported him to the Alfred A. Arraj Federal Courthouse and booked him on an outstanding escape notice issued by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The agency credited a multi-agency investigation with bringing the lengthy manhunt to a close.
The shooting itself unfolded just before 2 a.m. on May 31, 2024, outside the 7‑Eleven at 15296 E. Hampden Ave. An argument that began inside the store spilled onto the sidewalk, where shots were fired. Mosley told KDVR that she and her children have been traumatized by the violence and that her son was critically wounded before later stabilizing in the hospital. Police have said Mosley and her son were not part of the dispute that led up to the gunfire.
How the manhunt came together
As the U.S. Marshals Service detailed, Aurora police called in federal help in January 2026. Members of the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force executed search warrants and conducted interviews to learn the alias Smith was allegedly using to stay off law enforcement’s radar. Investigators then watched a residence in the 1400 block of Milwaukee St., where surveillance confirmed Smith’s presence and set the stage for a coordinated arrest without incident.
The Marshals said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado Department of Corrections, Englewood Police Department, and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office all assisted in the operation.
What happens next
Smith remains in custody on the federal escape notice and is also wanted on an Aurora attempted-first-degree murder warrant issued June 17, 2024, as reported by KDVR. Prosecutors and Aurora Police will have to finish any extradition or transfer steps before the state case can proceed, and officials have not publicly identified any additional suspects in the 2024 shooting.
Neighbors and Mosley’s family say they are still looking for answers while investigators continue to work the case.
