Man fatally shot after allegedly shooting 2 Colorado troopers, firing at deputies, officials say

Man fatally shot after allegedly shooting 2 Colorado troopers, firing at deputies, officials say

A harrowing chain of events that unfolded Tuesday morning in a short time span west of Woodland Park left two Colorado State Patrol troopers with gunshot wounds and their vehicles damaged in the line of duty, several Teller County Sheriff’s Office deputies fired at but uninjured and one suspect deceased.

“It’s a misconception nothing can happen to you in a community,” said Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell. “There’s not a safe spot for a law enforcement agency to do its job. This happens throughout all of Colorado.”

At 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, a Colorado State Patrol trooper pulled over a blue Subaru with no license plates at the intersection of Piney Point Lane and West Highway 24 in Woodland Park.

“At the onset the driver opened fire on our trooper. The trooper had no opportunity to respond,” Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew C. Packard said during an afternoon news conference.

That trooper remained hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon with serious wounds, he said, presumably at UCHealth Memorial Central.

A second Colorado State Patrol trooper who had responded to a call of an active shooter was on the dirt road leading into the Westland Lakes subdivision, where the suspect fled, when the driver ambushed that trooper and opened fire again, hitting the trooper while he was in his car, Packard said.

That trooper had less serious injuries than the first and was treated and released, he said.

Minutes later, the two wounded troopers drove across the highway to UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital to be treated for multiple gunshot wounds. Hospital employees said four bullets hit the hospital but no one was injured.

An audio file The Gazette obtained reports the trooper in serious condition was shot in the neck, shoulder and ribs.

“Both troopers drove themselves to the hospital and walked into the ER,” Packard said. “With an extreme sense of relief, both are going to be OK.”

Their names were not released, however Packard said one has worked for the State Patrol for 15 years, primarily in the Pikes Peak region, and the other has been a trooper for 10 years.

The suspect initially got away.

The State Patrol, sheriff’s offices and other law enforcement including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation, issued community alerts on social media platforms and to traditional media outlets, giving a description of the suspect and his blue Subaru.

Westwood Lakes, directly behind the intersection of the traffic stop, was put on a shelter-in-place order, then residents in another subdivision in the area, Woodland West, also were required to stay put while authorities searched for the gunman.

It was a trying day for residents in the nearby neighborhoods.

Morgan MacLeod, owner of MacLeod Construction, said while on lockdown, he heard gunshots, went out on his deck and “saw enormous police presence” just three houses over.

Authorities were at a house close to MacLeod’s, where the suspect was apprehended about two hours after the initial traffic stop.

But not before the third ambush of the day occurred.

Within the span of three minutes, Mikesell said law enforcement received a tip from a resident’s family member at 9:24 a.m., deputies arrived at 9:25 a.m. at the house where the suspect was thought to be in Woodland West — just a mile and a half away from where the suspect’s vehicle was pulled over.

The deputies were shot at but not injured, Mikesell. One deputy returned fire and hit the man who was shooting at them.

The suspect was given lifesaving measures at the scene and transported to UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, where he died, Mikesell said.

A medical helicopter was called but the suspect was pronounced dead before he could be transported to Colorado Springs, according to the sheriff.

The name of the deceased suspect also was not released.

A homeowner who had seen the alerts noticed a contract construction worker on-site at her house matched the description given by law enforcement, said Kate Singh, spokesperson for the Fourth Judicial District, which covers Teller and El Paso counties.

A family member contacted the Teller County Sheriff’s Office dispatch, and deputies responded, she said.

Some 30 law enforcement vehicles from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, the U.S. Marshals Service, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and unmarked cars were on the scene near West Highway 24 and Piney Point Lane, the entrance to the Westwood Lakes subdivision.

Yellow crime scene tape blocked Piney Point Lane from access, as a cluster of officers, deputies, troopers, agents and investigators huddled together, working the area.

Across the street at the UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, yellow crime scene tape also marked the entrance to the emergency department, where the troopers received initial treatment.

Officials credited the massive response and the community alert to the crime being solved quickly and with a positive outcome.

“It was a sea of blue today, everywhere I Iooked,” Mikesell said. In his 30 years in law enforcement, Mikesell said he’d never seen that type of response.

“When somebody engages in violent behavior, our men and women in law enforcement don’t hesitate to respond,” he said.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will conduct a criminal investigation for both locations of the incidents and then turn it over to the Fourth Judicial District, said District Attorney Michael Allen.

He alluded that it is likely the officer-involved shooting will be determined to have been justified.

“The response was remarkable,” Allen said. “You never want to hear this call — this is a difficult situation.

“If you shoot a Colorado state trooper, the world is coming for you and that’s what happened today and I’m grateful for that response.”