2 auto theft suspects dead after exchanging gunfire with Douglas County deputies at RTD station
Two suspects are dead and one deputy has minor injuries after a shooting involving Douglas County deputies and a stolen vehicle, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said. It happened in Lone Tree area late Tuesday night.
Just after 10:45 p.m., deputies patrolling the RTD parking lot at Lincoln Station saw a suspicious black Kia backed into a parking spot with no license plates and punched-out locks. Deputies put a team together and when they approached the vehicle, which was not running and had a shade visor in the windshield, the deputies knocked on the window. That's when the suspects began shooting at them through both the driver's side and passenger side windows, according to the sheriff's office.
Six deputies were present, and they all returned fire. A total of 35 rounds were fired. Across a seven- to nine-minute period there were three separate shooting incidents. One deputy was nearly shot when a bullet went through the sleeve of his shirt and his face was sprayed with glass. That deputy was rushed to the hospital with minor injuries and was treated and released.
"Our officers were very, very lucky last night that something didn't happen more dangerous to them," said Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock on Wednesday morning. "The individuals engaged us first and deputies returned fire."
Both suspects were killed. Those suspects have not been identified, however, investigators know who they were and said they were both under the age of 32. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said that the suspects were in a stolen car out of Pueblo and trying to hide from officers. The deputies are part of a team developed to specifically identify and locate stolen vehicles.
Both of the suspects had prior offenses related to auto theft and warrants for their arrest. One of the suspects was wanted in connection to another shooting out of Denver in the past three months. Deputies found two weapons in the car.
"We have been saying for the last year and a half that auto theft is the number one crime in the Denver metro area because it's related to other crimes, theft, burglary," said Spurlock. "Take your valuables out of your car, make sure your car is locked and if you see something suspicious, call law enforcement."
The scene was cleared Wednesday afternoon and the RTD station and park 'n ride were reopened to the public.
