An armed man shot by Greeley police after a Wednesday night chase through the University of Northern Colorado campus died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the coroner’s office.
The Weld County Coroner’s Office identified the man as 41-year-old Theodore Lee Rybus of Greeley and said he was also wounded by officers who fired their weapons at him, according to a news release Thursday.
At least one pair of officers who shot at Rybus fired their weapons after hearing gunfire from another pair of officers who shot at Rybus when he turned toward the first pair while holding a gun, according to a Thursday afternoon .
It’s unclear how many of the four officers shot at Rybus, the update stated.
The investigative team that Rybus fired at officers, but retracted that assertion in the afternoon update.
The shooting followed a police chase through the UNC campus that began after a Greeley officer tried to pull Rybus over on a felony warrant for motor vehicle theft just after 8 p.m. Wednesday near the campus.
Rybus refused to stop, and officers called off the pursuit, but he was found just minutes later on the UNC campus and officers tried to arrest him again, Weld County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Melissa Chesmore said.
Rybus, who was holding a gun, fled as two officers chased him and shouted at him several times to drop the weapon. The other pair of officers involved in the shooting approached him from the opposite direction. That is when the officers fired their weapons.
Paramedics took Rybus to the hospital Wednesday night, and he later died from his injuries, sheriff’s officials said.
No one else was injured in the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact investigators at 970-400-5392 or 970-674-6446.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
