2 dead in Denver after suspect shoots man then himself after chase, police say

Two men are dead in Denver after a suspect shot and killed a man, fled the scene, got into two separate crashes and then apparently killed himself, according to police.

The Denver Police Department says it got a call just before 9 a.m. about a shooting near West Arkansas Avenue and South Knox Court. When officers arrived, they found a man who was shot and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Witnesses described the suspect's vehicle as a white "work-type" van and officers found it soon after traveling at a high rate of speed. The department says a chase was authorized at 9:06 a.m. and the suspect crashed into a vehicle near South University Boulevard and Cherry Hills Farm Drive and then crashed again nearby.

A Denver police spokesman says officers found the suspect with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Three people were in the vehicle the suspect crashed into and all three appeared to be uninjured, according to police.

A car near the scene of the crash was upside down on the road and footage from CBS News Colorado's helicopter showed a white van crashed into a wall surrounded by trees with an armored police vehicle near it.

Doug Schepman, a spokesman for Denver police, says that because the van had few windows and limited visibility, officers stayed back and issued commands to the driver to get out of the van.

Eventually, several SWAT officers approached the van and found the suspect unresponsive. They rendered medical aid but he was eventually pronounced dead.

Neither the suspect nor the shooting or crash victims were immediately identified and Schepman said the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.

The decision to chase a suspect isn't one that's often approved for considerations of safety of officers, other motorists, pedestrians and the broader community, Schepman said. 

"Given the nature of the initial report that came in, that we had a shooting which ultimately ended up being a homicide, the possibility that this individual was still armed, a pursuit was approved," he said. "And again, throughout that entire process, supervisors are weighing the potential safety risks to people who are on the roadway, as well as the potential safety risks of letting this individual get away."