(Oct. 20, 2024) – The Aurora Police Department was involved in an officer-involved shooting early Sunday morning responding to a weapons call at an apartment complex in west Aurora.
About 11:15 p.m. Saturday, a resident of the 1900 block of South Vaughn Way called Aurora911 to report an argument between multiple people, all who lived in the same apartment, including a man armed with a handgun. The caller told dispatchers a man assaulted a woman, threatened them and another roommate with the firearm, and returned inside an apartment with the victim.
Among the officers who responded to the scene was a member of Aurora police’s hostage negotiation team who, along with numerous other officers on the scene, was able to facilitate the release of the victim without further injury. Officers remained at the scene and attempted to contact the suspect to negotiate his surrender.
About 1 a.m. Sunday, the suspect appeared in a doorway and fired multiple shots at officers. One officer returned fire, striking the suspect.
Officers performed lifesaving actions on the suspect until medical responders arrived and rushed the man to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The suspect, an 18-year-old Aurora man, later died at the hospital. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office will identify him.
The involved officer has been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with agency policy. The 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The Aurora Police Department is conducting a parallel administrative review of the incident. The investigation and administrative review are active and ongoing.
The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867). Tipsters can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Agent Matthew Longshore
Public Information Officer
720.432.5095
AP2024-210564
Critical Incident Video – Oct 20, 2024 – Officer-Involved Shooting
(Dec. 23, 2024) Today, we are releasing a critical incident video relating to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Oct 20, 2024. We strive to release these videos within 30 days of an incident, considering that we cannot legally release them to the public until 72 hours after an affected family has viewed them. Any loss of life is a tragedy for an individual's family, our community, and the officers involved, no matter the circumstances.
We understand you may have other questions. We will share any additional findings once the following investigations are complete:
• The 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is conducting an independent investigation of the officer-involved shooting to determine whether the officers' actions complied with state law.
• Concurrently, the Aurora Police Department's Internal Investigations Bureau is conducting an administrative investigation of the entire incident, assessing compliance with agency policies and training.
Agent Matthew Longshore
Public Information Officer
720.432.5095
AP2024-210564