Two teenagers are dead and two more injured following a roadside shooting in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon.
One of several teenagers in a small sport utility vehicle was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher at about 1:20 p.m. to report that someone in a Chevrolet Suburban was following them with a shotgun when the driver of the Suburban rammed the SUV, Colorado Springs police Lt. Skip Arms said.
The SUV was heading toward the Sand Creek Division of the Colorado Springs Police Department , at 4125 Center Park Dr., to report the pursuing Suburban, Arms said.
The drivers stopped in a residential area near South Murray Boulevard and Crestline Drive, and the driver of the Suburban began shooting at the SUV, Arms said.
Arms said he did not know how many shots were fired, but one male passenger from the SUV died at the scene from gunshot wounds, he said.
The shooter, also male, turned the gun on himself and killed himself after beating a girl from the SUV with the butt of his shotgun in a nearby field.
The girl sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Memorial Hospital along with another teenage male from the SUV, who was in critical condition after being shot, Arms said.
Another passenger was not injured, although police were unclear which vehicle that teen had been riding in. All the teens involved were between 15 and 18 years old.
“We believe there was some type of pre-existing relationship between a passenger in the Chevy and someone in the SUV,” Arms said.
But Arms said he could not elaborate on that relationship.
All of the victims were students from area high schools, and their names are being withheld pending family notification.
Traffic along South Murray Boulevard between Airport Road and Fountain Boulevard was delayed for several hours while police investigated.
This is the 21st homocide this year in Colorado Springs. According to police records, there were 15 murders in 2006 and 25 in 2002, which is the most in one year between 2001 and 2006.
Cassie Hewlings: 303-954-1638 or chewlings@denverpost.com
