A man with a serious bullet wound was rescued from a house by Aurora police rescued after a shooting that left another man dead early this morning, authorities say.
Police arrested a man at a home in the 1600 block of South Tucson Street early this morning, said Bob Friel, Aurora police spokesman.
“The rescue was nothing short of heroic,” Friel said. “I’m really proud of these guys from what I’ve heard.
The names of the shooting victims and the suspect have not been released.
The shooting victim was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, Friel said.
“I’m pleased to say this young man survived and he is at the hospital,” he said.
The relationship between the suspect and the victims is not immediately known, but Friel said the suspect had known the victims for some time.
Shortly before 2 a.m., a woman called from a neighbor’s home. She had just sneaked out of the home where the shootings had taken place, Friel said.
“She managed to flee,” he said.
A police sergeant arrived at the home first and found a man armed with a handgun standing in the front yard.
The sergeant ordered the man to show his hands, put his weapon down and get down on the ground but the man refused, Friel said.
While the officer was negotiating with the suspect to surrender, dispatchers received another call from inside the house.
A young man said he had been shot and was seriously wounded.
“He was pleading for help,” Friel said.
Other police officers quickly organized and sneaked quietly through the back fence and into the back of the house.
“The officers who went into the home had no way of knowing what was in the house,” Friel said. “There could have been another gunman.”
They found the body of an older man who was obviously dead and continued to search for the younger man who had been wounded, Friel said.
When they found the man, they put their guns in their holsters and carried the man out the back and rushed him to the hospital.
“That was an intense situation,” Friel said.
Meantime the negotiation with the suspect continued for about 1-1/2 hours. Ultimately, the suspect agreed to put his gun down and surrender.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
