Colorado police: Shot fired at ambulance by man who ran out of burning house

A 34-year-old Colorado man recovering in a hospital will be charged with arson and attempted murder once doctors conclude treatment and hand him over to authorities. 

The yet-unidentified man was taken into custody Friday afternoon after firing a round from a handgun into the windshield of an ambulance. 

The trajectory of the bullet was altered and the three people inside the Falck Rocky Mountain ambulance were not injured. 

"I've been a paramedic for 30 years," Falck Regional Managing Director David Patterson said Saturday, "and the level of 'close call' here is remarkable....(It was) the nearest of misses." 

At the time of the gunshot, the ambulance was in motion, pulling up to the scene of a house fire with residents standing nearby, Patterson said. A paramedic was driving the vehicle with an EMT trainee in the front passenger seat and an EMT in the patient compartment. 

Several Aurora Fire Department engines and another Falck ambulance had already arrived at the house fire call in the 4200 block of South Kittredge Street. Patterson was unsure why that particular vehicle was singled out. But he praised its driver for not panicking and veering into onlookers.

"We are relieved that the ambulance crew was unharmed and we recognize our responders for their courage as well as their calm and quick reactions to avoid a tragic outcome," a statement provided by Patterson reads.

The Falck crew members declined to comment directly and are being offered counseling, Patterson added. 

"This near-miss is greatly troubling and we are incredibly thankful that no one was injured," Aurora Fire Rescue stated on social media. "Please keep this crew in your thoughts and prayers."

The paramedic crew "literally dodged a bullet," the department added.

The house fire was dispatched by Aurora Fire at 3:22 p.m. As units traveled toward the location, they were warned by a dispatcher that a witness at the scene reported a man with a gun ran from the house. 

The first engine arrived at 3:26, per radio traffic.

At 3:28, the ambulance driver broke in:  "Medic 108, we just got shot at....Suspect is westbound on Princeton, armed with a handgun."

A dispatcher made sure the ambulance's situation was overheard: "Command, are you aware Medic 108 just got shot at? Suspect is westbound on Princeton."

"Command copies," replied Aurora Fire's commander. "Would you relay that to police?"

"Yes sir," the dispatcher acknowledged. "They're on scene, they know."

The dispatcher then queried the ambulance crew. 

"Are you injured?"

"Uh, negative, dispatch," stated Medic 108's driver. The driver aired his description of the suspect, a similar description to what had been provided by the person who saw the man run out of the house.

Aurora Police Department officers soon found the man. They fired 40mm less-lethal rounds during a brief standoff before taking him into custody.

Investigators with the Aurora Police Department have not released any information about the suspect's possible motive for the shooting. He will charged with two counts of attempted murder. 

Aurora Fire personnel reported fire coming from the second-floor windows of the two-story home when they pulled up. A dog was rescued from inside the home, but no people were inside it.