By James Anderson and Colleen Slevin
Associated Press
ARVADA, Colo. — A gunman is believed to have shot and killed an officer and another person in a shopping district in a Denver suburb Monday before being fatally shot by police, authorities said.
An officer responded to a call at 1:15 p.m. about a suspicious incident near the library in the city of Arvada, and about 15 minutes later, a 911 call came in about shots fired and the officer hit, Deputy Chief Ed Brady said at a news conference.
Another person believed to have been shot by the gunman was taken to a hospital and died, police said. The attacker also was shot and killed.
Authorities didn’t immediately describe the circumstances of the shooting but said no one else is believed to have been involved. No identities have been released yet.
Earlier, police said there were two suspects.
The shooting occurred in Olde Town Arvada, the city’s downtown district with shops, restaurants, breweries and other businesses. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is about 7 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of downtown Denver.
It comes three months after a gunman opened fire and killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a supermarket in Boulder, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Arvada.
The Arvada officer’s death, just the third in Police Department history, was especially painful after the mass shooting in nearby Boulder, Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said. Arvada police helped respond and investigate that attack, he said.
“This is by far the saddest day for our Police Department,” Williams said. Police vehicles lined up for a procession planned to honor the officer who was killed, and some residents lined a street with flags.
The mayor said he was in his car in the area shortly before 2 p.m. “when literally I saw 11 police cars with their flashing lights and sirens on race past me. I knew something serious had happened. I didn’t know how serious.”
Arvada resident Brady Turner said he was pulling into the Army and Navy store in the area when he noticed police cars driving in behind him and a person on a stretcher being put into an ambulance in between the parking lot and the store. He said he took off in his car.
“I just got out of there,” Turner said.
About five minutes later, he heard gunshots near the library about a block away.