Suspect dead after reportedly shooting himself following shootout with police in North Denver neighborhood
Denver Police Department said Friday night a suspect was dead after an exchange of gunfire with police led to the suspect shooting and killing himself. There was a victim inside the apartment where the suspect was shooting at police. She was eventually able to get out of the home safely, police said.
According to the police department, officers were responding to a domestic violence suspect at an apartment building at the corner of E 33rd Avenue and Marion Street in the North Denver area. There was a shootout between officers and the suspect before he died from a self-inflicted injury.
Deputy Chief Aaron Sanchez spoke at the scene of the shooting, where he said police were originally called to a domestic violence disturbance when they first met with the suspect just after 7:30 p.m.
Officers spoke to the suspect at the door of one of the apartments at the building for about 20 minutes. That's when police said they came under gunfire by the suspect who entered the apartment and continued shooting at police from there.
The domestic violence victim was inside the apartment during the shootout, and she was able to leave from the front door after shooting between the suspect and police stopped around 8:30 p.m. That's when she told officers the suspect had died from shooting himself. The deputy chief said the victim had minor injuries.
Several Denver officers fired shots during multiple rounds of shooting with the suspect. None of the police officers were seriously hurt, but one officer had an injury to their hand from the initial response. They were expected to be OK. It wasn't clear on the night of the shooting if the injury was a result of the exchange of gunfire.
A shelter-in-place order for neighbors was maintained until after the victim was able to get out of the apartment safely. The area was ultimately considered safe, but the scene remained active after 10 p.m. It was expected police would maintain a presence until early-morning hours on Saturday.
