THORNTON, Colo. -- At least seven Adams County schools were locked down during the lunch hour as a precaution while authorities searched for a suspected gunman that was later fatally shot by police. The lockdown was lifted after the shooting.

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Police Shooting Ends In Death

Thornton police said they called to a traffic in the 8900 block of Huron Street at 11:15 a.m., when the suspect pulled a weapon and fled on foot. The suspect was later cornered in a back yard of a home in the 8900 block of Neil Street.

"My dad was out working on the garden and he said some kids were shooting off firecrackers and I told him to get in the house because those weren't firecrackers," said Darrell Valdez.

Police said the suspect fired several shots at two officers as they rounded a corner of the house. The officers returned fire and hit the suspect, killing him. The gunman was believed to be 18 years of age. No officers were injured in the shooting, police said.

The incident began when the suspect ran a stop sign and crashed into another car, police said. A 26-year-old woman and 5-year-old child in the same car as the suspect were treated at a local hospital. The 75-year-old driver of the second car was also taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

Police aren't sure why the suspect ran from the accident, or fired at police.

The schools involved in the precautionary lockdown were: Coronado Elementary, Federal Heights Elementary, McElwan Elementary, Northmore Elementary, North Star Elementary, Pinnacle Charter School and Niver Creek Middle School.