Colorado police officers shoot and kill man involved in fight, Aurora police say

Police officers responding to a 911 call about a fight at an apartment complex Thursday afternoon ended up shooting a man who was allegedly involved in a fight and was believed to have a rifle. According to Aurora police, that man died.

The man was shot near the intersection of 16th Avenue and Oswego Street. This is just a few blocks west of the Fitzsimmons Medical Campus and one block north of East Colfax Avenue.

Police first responded to a report of a fight around the apartment complex at 1:30 p.m. According to one of the emergency reports, one of the people involved in the fight had an AR rifle. When they got there, officers spotted the person.

“The officers approached this person. They made several verbal contacts with the individual to try to get them to drop their weapon,” said Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain. “At that point, officers exchanged gunfire with the individual with the weapon and the individual fell to the ground.”

The person who was shot was taken to the hospital after being treated at the scene. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A person who was nearby in his office said he heard several loud gunshots and when he went outside he said there was a large police presence.

The person killed could not be identified. The other person involved in the fight was not injured and police interviewed that person later that afternoon.

Chamberlain told reporters the location where the shooting occurred was particularly concerning.

“We have a large site that is used for children seeking medical care across the street. There’s a school right down the street behind us,” he said. “It is very alarming to see that environment and then to see individuals walking around that environment being involved in altercations with an assault weapon, which again we are still investigating and still trying to determine the exact circumstances of that weapon .

The police chief said the body camera videos of the officers who responded would be reviewed as part of the investigation into the shooting.