ARVADA, Colorado (AP) — A gunfight between two men and police officers at a shopping district in a Denver suburb left an officer and one of the suspects dead, authorities said Monday.
The officer with the city of Arvada died, Mayor Marc Williams said. He declined to provide more details.
One suspect died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital by ambulance, Detective David Snelling said.
The shooting occurred in Olde Town Arvada, the city’s downtown district with shops, restaurants, breweries and other businesses. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is about 7 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of downtown Denver.
The shooting comes three months after a gunman opened fire and killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a supermarket in Boulder, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Arvada.
The Arvada officer’s death, just the third in Police Department history, was especially painful after the mass shooting in nearby Boulder, Williams said. Arvada police helped respond and investigate that attack, he said.
“This is by far the saddest day for our Police Department,” Williams said.
The mayor said he was in his car in the area shortly before 2 p.m. “when literally I saw 11 police cars with their flashing lights and sirens on race past me. I knew something serious had happened. I didn’t know how serious.”
Arvada resident Brady Turner said he was pulling into the Army and Navy store in the area when he noticed police cars driving in behind him and a person on a stretcher being put into an ambulance in between the parking lot and the store. He said he took off in his car.
“I just got out of there,” Turner said.
About five minutes later, he heard gunshots near the library about a block away.
Police said they planned to provide more information at a news conference Monday afternoon.
The incident briefly forced the closure of a light rail station in the downtown district.
James Anderson And Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press
