A man who barricaded himself inside his home was fatally shot by SWAT officers who stormed the home after hours of futile negotiations, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident started at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday when a woman called 911 and told dispatchers that her adult son had fired shots inside their home in the 11300 block of West Crestline Drive, said Jacki Kelley, a spokeswoman with the Sheriff’s Office.
The mother, who phoned police, was not in the home at the time she called for help, Kelley said.
When deputies arrived, they “saw additional gunfire from inside the residence,” Kelley said.
Deputies called for backup, including a SWAT team and negotiators with the Sheriff’s Office.
“There were times when we did have negotiations, although they were somewhat sporadic,” Kelley said.
The SWAT team fired tear gas into the home in an attempt to flush out the 34-year-old man, but it didn’t work, Kelley said.
At about 12:45 a.m. SWAT members stormed the home.
The man pointed a handgun at SWAT members, “forcing them to react with deadly force,” Kelley said.
More than one SWAT member fired, Kelley said, and the man was shot “multiple” times.
He was taken to Swedish Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The man’s name has not been released.
A law-enforcement agency other than the Sheriff’s Office will investigate the SWAT shooting, Kelley said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
