LAKEWOOD, Colo.—Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man suspected of firing at least one shot inside a credit union before fleeing in a stolen car on Wednesday.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s office spokesman Jim Shires said no one was injured but it wasn’t immediately known if any money was stolen from the Bellco Credit Union. Shires said Tobias Archuleta, 27, called the sheriff’s office and was arrested without incident about 3 p.m. at a shopping center about a mile southwest of the credit union.
Archuleta was arrested on federal bank robbery charges and taken to the Denver jail.
The first call about shots fired was received at 9:11 a.m.
Sandra Sagehorn, vice president of Bellco’s customer service, said one shot was fired but it didn’t appear to be aimed at anyone in particular. John Wyckoff, the credit union’s security consultant, said the gunman walked in shortly after the building opened, opened fire and ordered everyone to get on the floor.
Shires said there were conflicting reports about how many shots were fired.
Initially, there was also conflicting information about whether a second suspect was in the bank, but no one else was found inside, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.
While the building was being secured, sheriff’s deputies staked out positions around the credit union, aiming guns and rifles at the building. Deputies forced cars driving by to turn around.
Shires said deputies would have immediately entered the building if shots were being fired inside.
“When someone walks into a bank and fires a shot it shows that the suspect is more willing than others to take whatever means he feels are necessary to accomplish his goals. It’s a very dangerous situation,” he said.
Shires said the man took keys from an employee and fled in a 2006 silver Dodge van that was quickly found unoccupied nearby.
Authorities issued a reverse-911 alert to residents within a half-mile radius of the credit union and warned people to keep their doors closed.
Kelley said the people who were inside the bank at the time of the shooting will be interviewed by investigators.
She said there were reports of “questionable” behavior by some of the bank patrons but she could not give details. She also said their behavior does not imply they did anything wrong.
“These people have not done anything wrong,” Kelley said. “They were put through an extremely stressful situation this morning.”
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Associated Press writer Ivan Moreno contributed to this report.
