A man was shot and seriously wounded in Aurora on Wednesday afternoon, and police have detained three suspects after an eight-mile car chase that ended with a violent crash in north Denver.
The shooting happened about 2 p.m. in an alley between the 1200 blocks of Yosemite and Akron streets near the Aurora/Denver border. Neighbors said the shooting happened near a backyard shed behind a house that faced Akron Street.
Officer Diana Cooley, an Aurora police spokeswoman, said the victim was wounded in his upper left chest and had life-threatening injuries. He was being treated at a hospital.
Police investigators roped off the alley with yellow crime scene tape.
Officers began pursuing a stolen white Toyota Rav4 that witnesses saw leaving the scene. Denver police joined the chase when it entered their jurisdiction.
The Toyota crashed on train tracks near a construction site in the 5200 block of Brighton Boulevard in the city’s Elyria Swansea neighborhood, narrowly missing workers.
“He went right through all of our equipment,” said Colter Lund, a witness who was working at the site. “We didn’t know if they needed help or what.”
Lund said the Toyota was speeding when it apparently lost control, went up an embankment and landed on the train tracks.
The occupants fled, said Samson Pacheco, a construction flagger, but were taken into custody by officers who arrived shortly thereafter.
“My family would have got some good insurance money,” he said of how narrowly the fleeing vehicle missed him.
Pacheco said the SUV went airborne as it wrecked. Deployed airbags inside the vehicle were visible as investigators mulled around the scene.
“They are lucky to be alive,” Pacheco said.
The three suspects were identified only as males. Police indicated they were still trying to determine their involvement in the case.
Officials say their investigation into the shooting is in its early stages.
“We’re not sure exactly what led to the shooting,” Cooley said.
The afternoon shooting rattled the neighborhood. Long-time residents said crime has been on the rise, and they don’t understand why.
Angela Davis, who lives on 12th Avenue in an apartment facing the alley, said she had walked outside to check her mailbox when she saw a white SUV speed out of the alley. She did not hear shots.
“I didn’t realize it was something that horrible that happened up in there,” she said. “Itap bad.”
Denver Post staff writers Justin David Tate and Noelle Phillips contributed to this report.
