MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Who is the Colorado shooter? 5 shot dead in 'killing spree' across Denver and Lakewood

'We believe this individual was responsible for this very violent series of events that took place in the Denver-metro area,' said Denver Police Department Chief Paul Pazen

DENVER, COLORADO: Five people are dead following a deadly shooting across multiple locations in Denver and Lakewood in Colorado on Monday, December 27. The suspect was shot and killed on the streets of Lakewood’s busy Belmar shopping district, while an officer was injured in the incident, according to the authorities.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, is believed to have killed four people and wounded at least three others. One of the victims is a Lakewood police officer who required surgery Monday night, according to John Romero, a Lakewood Police Department spokesman. The first shooting took place near First Avenue and Broadway, Denver Police Department Chief Paul Pazen said, as he described the night as a “killing spree.” Two women were killed and one man was injured in the first shooting and another man was killed in a shooting near 12th Avenue and Williams Street in Denver. Some of the other shootings that have grabbed headlines recently include the Oxford School shooting and the Texas vigil shooting. 

READ MORE

Viral video shows student survivor LAUGHING after Oxford High School shooting

Oxford school shooting: Sheriff says gun used was bought by suspect's father on Nov 26

Shots were also fired at Sixth Avenue and Cherokee Street as well as Eighth Avenue and Zuni Street, but no injuries were reported at either scene. The suspected shooter then continued his shooting spree in Lakewood, where two people, including the suspect, were shot dead while two people, including an officer, were injured. The investigation is ongoing but the two police departments believe one unidentified man is to blame. “We believe this individual was responsible for this very violent series of events that took place in the Denver-metro area,” Pazen said.

Who is the Colorado shooter?

The Colorado shooter has not been identified by the police. The suspect was reported in Lakewood just before 6 pm, firing shots near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Kipling Street, where he reportedly shot a person fatally. Lakewood officers spotted the suspect's car in the Belmar area where the suspect exchanged gunfire with the police.

The suspect then fled to a nearby business where police say the suspect showed his gun. At the Hyatt House, he shot one of the clerks, who was rushed to the hospital. Their condition is not immediately known. As he ran away from the Hyatt, the suspect continued to shoot at officers, injuring one, but the officer shot back. This was the point in time that the suspect was killed. There have been no specifics released on how the suspect died and if he was killed by a Lakewood officer. “Still unsure exactly if it was by Lakewood police or not but he was then pronounced dead at the scene,” Romero said. “At this point, we do not believe there is any additional safety concern to the community.”

'Tall man, blond hair, with a trench coat'

Witnesses told FOX31 they heard several rounds of gunfire near the shopping center on Wadsworth Boulevard. “We seen (sic) the lady officer just yelled: ‘put your gun down. Put your gun away!’ And we just seen the suspect pull his gun out and, literally, shoot her, in front of us and she was on the floor, she was on the ground,” one witness told the outlet. “He turned and he kept shooting, almost shooting toward us, but my friend, backed up, just in time or we would have been shot, as well.”

Witnesses who were driving in the Belmar area, also gave a description of the suspect, who appeared to be interacting with a female officer. “We seen (sic) the guy: he was a tall man, blond hair, with a trench coat. She yelled at him to ‘put his gun down!’ She yelled, ‘put your gun down’ and he turned around and, like, pulled up the gun and shot her right in front of us, multiple times,” another witness told FOX31.