Police in Grand Junction fatally shot a 17-year-old carjacking suspect Tuesday evening, climaxing a series of events that began when the teenager got into a fight with his father.
According to a statement from police Wednesday, after the physical fight with his father, David Gaines left his home in a silver pickup truck with a long gun and a backpack containing ammunition and some other items.
At about 5:50 p.m., according to police, Gaines apparently drove off the south edge of Grand Avenue in the 700 block, at a high rate of speed, and then veered into the opposing westbound lanes in the 800 block, striking a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist , later identified as 57-year-old Preston Ellis, died as a result of the crash.
The truck also hit a parked vehicle.
Police said the teen left his truck with the backpack and the gun, and at one point was seen by a witness aiming the gun in a southwesterly direction.
Evidence indicates Gaines fired the gun at least once, possibly striking an occupied vehicle that had stopped for the accident.
Ultimately, police said, the teen arrived on the east side of Washington Park. An SUV occupied by a woman and her two children was parked there, waiting for another one of her children to finish soccer practice in the park. The woman saw an armed man approaching her vehicle and she became alarmed. As she tried to start the SUV, the teen forcefully ordered the family out .
At 5:57 p.m., officers from the Grand Junction Police Department, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colorado State Patrol began arriving.
From just across the street, they exchanged fire with Gaines, who was standing by the carjacked SUV, hitting him. Gaines was treated at the scene, taken to St. Mary’s Hospital by the Grand Junction Fire Department, and died a short time later.
Police said no one else, including first-responders, was injured. The department did not name the officer involved in the shooting, only to say that he is a 17-year veteran.
The department described the ongoing investigation as “highly complex,” and is asking the community’s assistance in locating any additional witnesses or video related to the crime scenes. Any one with information should call 970-244-3526, or CrimeStoppers at 241-STOP, or 241-7867.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or
