Denver SWAT team members fatally shot a man who confronted them with a gun as officers entered an apartment to make an arrest and search for drugs, police say.
After the shooting at 9:45 a.m. Friday, the man was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, said Sharon Hahn, Denver police spokeswoman.
The SWAT officers went to a second-floor apartment at the Villages at Gateway, in the 4700 block of Peoria Street, on a no-knock arrest warrant and immediately entered the apartment, Hahn said. SWAT officers continue to guard the address.
Two officers fired shots at the man after he pulled out a gun, Hahn said. It is unclear whether the suspect fired any shots, but neither of the officers was hit, she said.
A neighbor said the sole occupant of the apartment was a man who had lived there for about five months.
“A lot of girls come in and see that guy,” said Sergio Rosales, who lives in the apartment next door to the dead man’s.
Others who live in the sprawling complex of three-story brick apartment houses said gunfire is a familiar sound in the neighborhood.
“There is always shooting around here,” said Marilyn Gonzalez, whose friend was shot not long ago.
“She’s still got the bullet,” Gonzalez said.
Theresa Johnson, an assistant manager at a Subway restaurant, said she moved to the neighborhood about two years ago to be close to her job.
“They busted a car-theft ring up under my bedroom window. I thought this was such a quiet place to move. The last six months have been crazy. This is going to be a horrible summer if they don’t put this in check,” she said.
The shooting is under investigation.
The 12-unit building was cordoned off with yellow warning tape Friday afternoon, and plainclothes police, detectives and a uniformed officer were scattered in front.
Strips of red tape blocked the door to the dead man’s apartment, and a screen door could be seen on the weathered wooden deck next to a bicycle.
Hahn said she did not know whether police found drugs in the home. It is unclear how many SWAT team members were part of the operation or whether there was anyone else in the apartment at the time.
Hahn said Friday’s SWAT team operation was part of an ongoing investigation.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
