DENVER—Undercover officers who got into a shootout with a suspected robber in a restaurant where they were eating did what they had to do, police officials said Thursday.
The suspect, Phoung Dang, 26, was seriously wounded in the shootout with the two officers Wednesday.
One of the officers was treated for glass in his eye and was released. Three other diners—a father, mother and son—were hit by the officers’ gunfire.
One injured diner remained hospitalized Thursday but no information was released.
Dang, armed with a shotgun, entered the back of the Vietnamese restaurant and walked through the kitchen around noon, Police Division Chief Dave Fisher said during a news conference. Employees ran out the door and Dang walked into to the dining area, where two undercover officers were having lunch, he said.
“We don’t know who fired first, we don’t know if it was the suspect or the officers,” Fisher said.
Dang fired one round from his shotgun, which then jammed. Fisher said the officers each fired six rounds at Dang.
Police officials said the family members sitting at a table behind the suspect were hit in the crossfire.
Fisher and Police Chief Gerry Whitman stressed that the investigation was still in the preliminary stages, but said the officers did the right thing.
“These officers did what they needed to do to save their lives,” Fisher said.
Police officials said Dang had been living in a halfway house while serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated robbery and assault.
