Man accused of shooting 2 teens and killing one in Aurora is a U.S. Space Force sergeant
A 27-year-old Space Force sergeant remained in the Adams County Jail Tuesday on a $500,000 bond. Sgt. Orest Schur is accused of killing one teen and wounding another he believed had been trying to steal a family car.
An affidavit from the case now details some of what happened the night of July 5 at his Aurora home and a few blocks away where police say two teenagers crashed a stolen car Schur fired at as he pursued them.
Schur has been working as a signals intelligence analyst for the Space Force at Buckley after transferring from the Army last year with the rank of sergeant. With the Army, he did two tours of service in Afghanistan and earned 14 service awards said a military spokesperson.
The series of events began late on July 5 when there were calls from Schur's wife saying her husband was out after car thieves. It was the third time, she told the 911 call taker, that someone had tried to steal one of their cars, which was a Hyundai Elantra. They had not succeeded in stealing the car, but made two attempts, explained the witness in the affidavit.
She reported hearing shots and a speeding car. Then there was a call from a man who said he had pursued the thieves who had tried to steal his wife's car. He said he'd been shot at by the thieves. He said he had chased them down and he had shot at them. They had crashed in the 19500 block of East 58th Circle. He declined to give his name when asked and said he was going back home.
Auto theft has been a problem in the area recently not just for the family, but for others. Neighbor Ben Diaz said his Honda had been stolen only days earlier.
"I didn't feel comfortable going out there confronting them. And if I would have gone out there and shot them, I would have been the one going to jail," he said.
His call to police, he said, resulted in a pushback.
"They didn't want to do anything about it. They said calm down and call your insurance."
When Aurora police arrived at the scene where the car crashed, at about 11:30 p.m., they found no people inside. The car belonged to a man in Lochbuie, but was not yet reported missing. They noted a bullet hole in the trunk. The rear windshield was smashed. There was a bullet hole in the back of the rear seat and driver's seat.
A short time later on the other side of the home where the car crashed they found the fatally wounded teenager, who had been shot in the back and head. The other teen, 13 years old, later showed up at an urgent care for treatment of a gunshot wound to the back and was transferred to Children's Hospital Colorado. The identities of the two are not yet released. The 13-year-old later told police that he was out walking, minding his own business, when a person pulled up thinking he was someone else and shot him. Schur was in his car pursuing the suspects alone.
Police said they could find no indication of shots fired by the teenagers. Schur's vehicle was not hit. A search of the neighborhood netted no indication of shots fired at Schur. There were shell casings in and on the car along the windshield. Schur said he had fired out his window while driving. Two casings were found in the area of East 59th Drive and Flanders Street. There were other casings as well. Police found four casings around the stolen vehicle that crashed. All of the shell casings located bore the headstamps consistent with those found in Schur's vehicle, believed to be from a 9mm Glock 19 recovered from Schur's home.
Aurora police spokesman Matthew Longshore said after the incident, "your life and someone else's life isn't worth losing over a piece of property."
He added that people should safely get only information that helps police find the suspects in a car theft.
"We certainly understand that you work hard for your property. We want to make sure that we get it back but we also don't want you taking things into your own hands."
In the affidavit, police say Schur's story of where he fired changed, saying at first it was on East 59th Drive, then while he was on Flanders Street pursuing the other vehicle. When police asked for consent to enter his home to retrieve the weapon involved, Schur refused permission. His wife told police when he arrived home he was upset by what happened and indicated he was nauseous.
Schur's wife told investigators she believed due to his two tours overseas he possibly had depression related to his service, but was not aware of any formal diagnosis of PTSD or other mental health issues.
Schur has a court appearance scheduled Thursday when the charges against him are to be read.
