A juvenile is dead and two are in custody after an armed robbery and police shooting in Aurora, police said.
The shooting happened near East 8th Avenue and North Dayton Street at about 4:20 p.m., according to the Aurora Police Department.
Interim Chief Art Acevedo said officers were responding to an armed robbery, with about six suspects involved, when a stolen vehicle, a black Kia minivan, parked in an alley drove off from the scene. The suspects who were inside the store scrambled, fleeing the scene on foot.
A uniformed sergeant, in an unmarked car, with the department’s gang intervention unit was driving when he spotted the suspects in masks and hoodies and determined it to be suspicious, said Acevedo at a streamed news conference. The sergeant radioed other nearby team members.
The driver of the Kia drove off and suspects came running out of the store heading in various directions. One of the suspects who fled on foot was armed, and that suspect was shot by an officer, Acevedo said.
Acevedo described the suspects as juveniles or young men who robbed a mini-mart store, looking specifically for vape smoke canisters.
Chief @ArtAcevedo gives update on Officer involved shooting. https://t.co/4x5z3rkrXc
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) June 2, 2023
a large police presence near the intersection of East 8th Avenue and North Dayton Street, near where the shots were fired.”]
No officers were injured in the incident. Two suspects were caught by police in the foot pursuit. Police on Thursday night were looking for the Kia. The juvenile who was shot was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The officer who fired a single shot at the suspect has been with the department since 2017 and with the department’s gang intervention unit since 2019, Acevedo said. The officer is on administrative leave, per department policy, and the shooting is under investigation.
The person shot will be identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.
Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.