AURORA — A weekend knife attack that left two people dead came to an end in the middle of an icy residential street where a man tackled his girlfriend and resumed stabbing her as her mother pleaded to a 911 operator for help.
Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz described the domestic violence incident as “tragic” and “chilling” while he praised the officer who shot and killed the woman’s attacker.
“As tragic as that situation turned out and as tragic as it is that this young woman lost her life, that officer pretty much gave her the only fighting chance at that moment to survive,” Metz said.
During the 911 call, the mother told an operator that she needed an ambulance at her Kenton Street house because she and her daughter, 28, had been stabbed.
“He’s getting her with a knife right now!” the mother said.
The recording, released Monday by Aurora police, lasted six minutes as the mother yelled for her daughter to run from her attacker and begged for police to hurry. The daughter’s screams can be heard in the call.
“She’s in the middle of the street laying down,” the mother told the 911 operator.
Three minutes and 50 seconds into the call, a man can be heard saying, “I’m going to shoot you” just before two shots were fired.
Witnesses have said the officer fired twice.
The officer, whose identity has not been released, identified himself and shouted for the man to drop his knife before pulling the trigger, Metz said Monday at a news conference.
Police said the fatal stabbing happened about five houses away from where the attack began.
The officer, who has been involved in one previous on-duty shooting, is on administrative leave, pending an investigation by Aurora and Denver police.
Metz said he was proud of the officer.
“Number one, we believe the mother was probably coming down there to assist her daughter,” Metz said. “Had he not gotten down there and taken the action that he did, it’s likely the suspect could have turned back on the mother who already had been stabbed.”
Neighbors also have said they were on the verge of running outside.
Metz stood alongside Carole O’Shea, who supervises the department’s victim advocate services, on Monday to urge domestic violence victims and their family and friends to ask for help.
“Domestic violence, unfortunately, is alive and well in our community,” he said.
The stabbing suspect and his victim had been in a relationship for several weeks, said Rob Mc Gregor, the Aurora police investigations commander. Cops had been called to the house at least one other time for a domestic violence incident.
Police arrived at the three minutes after the 911 call was placed, McGregor said.
The mother had intervened long enough for her daughter to try to escape but was stabbed while doing so, McGregor said.
The attacker was using a large knife, Metz said.
The daughter ran down Kenton Street, but the boyfriend caught her about five houses away, McGregor said.
The officer arrived to find two people in a fight in the street. He identified himself and ordered the suspect to drop the knife multiple times, Metz said. Witnesses have supported the account of the stabbing and shooting, he said.
Both died about two hours later at a hospital.
The suspect’s name will not be released, pending identification and family notification.
Police have not released the stabbing victim’s name, but family members have identified her as Mireya Ramirez, a mother of four, according to 7News.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or @Noelle_Phillips
Help for domestic violence victims
Aurora police department victims services unit: (303) 739-6087
National domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Gateway battered women’s shelter services: (303) 343-1851
