Four Aurora police cars were struck by gunfire Wednesday night after the occupants of a stolen vehicle began firing upon Aurora officers who were following it. Police on Thursday said at least one suspect remains at large.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference, interim Police Chief Dan Oates said that police are “extremely relieved” that no officers were hit by gunfire, and that police are “extremely angry” after the incident.
“Some people tried to murder Aurora police officers,” Oates said.
Media briefing by Chief regarding last nightap officer-involved shooting.
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD)
The incident began about 9:45 p.m. when officers in unmarked police cars began following a confirmed stolen white Kia sedan. The Kia, occupied by at least two people, and perhaps a third, pulled into a shopping center parking lot at 6th Avenue and Peoria Street.
Once the car stopped in the parking lot, one or more people in the car fired multiple rounds at two officers in an unmarked car without provocation, a department news release stated.
The two officers returned fire, and the suspects attempted to drive away when they were confronted by more officers responding to the scene, the release stated. The suspects then fired more rounds at the officers before driving out of the parking lot. Four police cars were hit by the gunfire, and five officers fired their guns at the suspects.
Officers found the stolen Kia a short time later crashed and unoccupied at East 10th Avenue and South Lima Street.
A search began for the suspects, and a juvenile was found in an open field and arrested on active warrants, the release stated.
Investigators were working to determine whether the juvenile was involved in the shooting, but the search for more suspects was still ongoing. Oates said one suspect who fled the stolen vehicle has an injured leg, based on blood found at the scene. Oates did not say whether that suspect was shot. Two guns were recovered in the stolen vehicle.
Five officers who fired their weapons were placed on leave for the duration of the police investigation. A sixth officer, who used a police vehicle in an attempt to block the stolen vehicle, is also on leave.
No officers were struck by the gunfire, but one was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of moderate injuries and released.
At the news conference, Oates said that a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture and arrest of the at-large suspect.
“We are asking for the community’s help,” Oates said. “We want to find this guy.”
