Officers shot and killed a man who set an Aurora motel room on fire and who then charged officers while he was armed with a knife, police said.
The fire, an hour-long standoff and police shooting happened Tuesday at the Ranger Motel in the 11000 block of East Colfax Avenue, police said.
Firefighters put out the fire before the shooting. The armed man also confronted firefighters with a knife, said Dan Oates, interim Aurora police chief, at an afternoon news conference.
Press conference regarding the Officer-Involved Shooting at the Ranger Motel,11220 E. Colfax Ave, earlier today.
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD)
Firefighters and police responded to the motel late in the morning, Aurora Fire Rescue said at 11:43 a.m. on Twitter. Drivers were urged to avoid the area on Colfax between Kingston and Lima streets.
: Officers are trying to contact a barricaded subject at the Ranger Motel located at 11220 E Colfax Ave. Unknown if related to incident.
E/B Colfax is CLOSED. W/B Colfax is down to 1 lane.
Any updates will be here.
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD)
The 51-year-old suspect, who was not named on Tuesday, set fire to his room, No. 47, and fled to nearby room No. 49, where a person fled that room for safety as the suspect was armed, Oates said. The rooms are on the motel’s second floor.
Police negotiated with the suspect for about an hour before the shooting happened. The armed man left room No. 49 and charged at an officer, Oates said, and more than one officer fired at the suspect.
“Shots have been fired by the police,” the department said at 12:37 p.m. on Twitter. The man was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“A total of six officers fired their weapons, three of the officers firing less-lethal weapons,” police said in an afternoon news release. “All of the Aurora Police Officers who fired their weapons were equipped with department-issued body cameras, which will be used in this ongoing investigation.”
The officers involved are on paid administrative leave per department policy.
No other injuries were reported. The 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the police shooting.
