Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Nov 6

Gunman Kills 1 Lakewood Officer on Denver-Area Bus, Wounding 4 Before Police Kill Him

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Nov 6

Gunman Kills 1 Lakewood Officer on Denver-Area Bus, Wounding 4 Before Police Kill Him

Q: What triggered a routine suspicious person call to erupt into a deadly shootout within seconds of police arriving?

What turned the routine call deadly, based on the official account so far, was the suspect’s immediate gunfire as officers made contact. Lakewood police said officers were sent around 6:30 p.m. to check on a suspicious person near a bus stop at West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard. When they arrived, they found the suspect trying to board an RTD Route 76 bus. Police say that within seconds of approaching the person, the suspect opened fire, hitting four officers. Officers then returned fire, killing the suspect at the scene. Authorities have not yet identified a clear motive or said what specifically prompted the suspect to start shooting at that moment. Investigators also have not settled whether the exchange happened on the bus or just outside it, though RTD confirmed the incident involved an RTD-contracted bus. Police have said the suspect may have been connected to a hit-and-run earlier in the day, but that had not been confirmed. So, the known trigger was not an escalating standoff or lengthy confrontation. According to police, the encounter became a deadly shootout almost immediately because the suspect fired as officers contacted him, transforming a suspicious-person call into a rapid ambush-style exchange. The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team, with help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, is investigating the full sequence of events.

Q: Could the suspect's rumored earlier hit-and-run explain why they instantly opened fire on approaching officers at the bus stop?

There is no confirmed evidence yet that a prior hit-and-run explains why the suspect immediately opened fire. What is known is that Lakewood officers were responding to a report of a suspicious person near a bus stop when they contacted someone trying to board an RTD bus. Police say the suspect fired within seconds, hitting four officers, and officers then returned fire. The suspect died at the scene. Authorities have said only that the suspect “may have been involved” in a hit-and-run earlier in the day. That detail has not been confirmed, and investigators have not publicly tied it to a motive for the shooting. The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team, with help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, is handling the case, and police have said more information will come later. A prior hit-and-run could, in theory, help explain why a suspect might fear arrest and react violently when approached. But at this stage that remains speculation, not an established fact. Other possibilities are also unresolved, including whether the suspect recognized the officers, was in crisis, or had another reason for opening fire. So the responsible answer is that the rumored earlier crash is a possible line of inquiry, but there is not enough verified information to say it caused the gunfire.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 6

A Lakewood officer died after a gunman opened fire on a commuter bus Thursday night, wounding three other officers and one civilian before police shot him dead.
Around 6:30 p.m. MST, officers were responding to a man possibly tied to an earlier hit-and-run when they found him boarding a Regional Transportation District bus in Lakewood.
John Romero, a police spokesman, said the man began shooting immediately after officers followed him onto the bus; authorities have identified him only as an adult male.
The wounded officers and civilian were taken to a hospital, with no late-Thursday update on their conditions, while the Jefferson County critical incident response team took over the investigation.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was heartbroken by the line-of-duty death, and Denver's transit agency said bus service was not affected.