Colorado Springs police opened fire on a wanted suspect Wednesday afternoon near North Murray Boulevard and Palmer Park Boulevard after the man allegedly fired at officers during an attempt to take him into custody. The suspect was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, and officers were not harmed, police said.
Colorado Springs police responded to a shooting involving one of their officers on the city's east side, according to a police department spokesperson cited by KOAA News 5, which reported the shooting happened just before 3 p.m. in the area of North Murray Boulevard and Palmer Park Boulevard. KRDO, however, reported that the shooting occurred around 2 p.m. that same afternoon, according to krdo.com.
The gunfire broke out during what The Gazette described as a fugitive apprehension operation at the Aviator Apartments, an apartment complex on North Murray Boulevard, according to gazette.com. Police said the wanted suspect had an active arrest warrant and was known to be armed and dangerous, per the same krdo.com report.
Suspect Allegedly Fired on Officers Before Being Shot
Officers moved in to arrest the suspect in the apartment complex's parking lot when the confrontation turned violent. The suspect allegedly fired at officers and hit the windshield of a police car, and officers and a deputy returned fire, hitting him, according to a report from yahoo.com. He was taken to a hospital and was in serious but stable condition, krdo.com reported.
No officers or bystanders were injured in the shooting, the Gazette's report notes. Police said there was no current threat to the public following the exchange of gunfire, per the yahoo.com account.
Agencies Disagree on Who's Leading the Investigation
Who is steering the investigation remains unclear from conflicting reports. The Gazette reported that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Sheriff's Office are leading the investigation into the shooting, while krdo.com reported that the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting.
The suspect's identity has not been released, and a police spokesperson, identified in the Gazette's report as Cronin, could not say what charges the suspect was facing under his arrest warrant.
Road Closures and a Nearby School Lockdown
As of 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, North Murray Boulevard remained closed between Sawyer Way and Palmer Park Boulevard for the investigation, the krdo.com report states. Police anticipated that stretch of roadway would stay closed through the night, according to the Gazette.
The shooting's proximity to area schools triggered a brief scare. The nearby Thomas MacLaren School released students in a controlled dismissal following a lockdown at the school, per the Gazette's reporting. District 11 said Madison Elementary School was not impacted, but the district helped coordinate dismissal procedures nearby, krdo.com reported.
CSPD said it will release an event briefing that includes video, including body-worn camera footage, within 21 days under department policy, according to krdo.com. It is the second high-profile officer-involved shooting investigated locally this year: in a separate incident on April 4, a Metro Task Force made up of Colorado Springs police officers and an El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputy was conducting proactive enforcement in the 1200 block of North Academy Boulevard when a suspect reportedly fired toward task force members, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. In that case, three Colorado Springs officers each fired at least one round, striking the suspect, who later died at a hospital, the sheriff's office said.
