LONE TREE, Colo. — An armed shoplifting suspect trying to escape from police was shot and killed outside Park Meadows mall, a spokesperson for the Lone Tree Police Department said late Thursday night.
Officers were responding to reports of a theft at the Macy’s at Park Meadows at around 8:19 p.m., according to Lone Tree Police Department spokesperson Denisse Coffman.
She said officers were chasing two suspects on foot when one of the suspects, who was only identified as a man, pulled out a handgun. It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspect fired the weapon at the officers, but after the man pulled out the gun, officers fired shots at the suspect, who was struck and died at the scene, Coffman said.
No threat to the public, but police tell me they are expanding the crime scene to search it and pushed us back off property. pic.twitter.com/NDufSZxAcz
— Jaclyn Allen (@jaclynreporting) March 1, 2019
A second suspect, believed to be a white woman, was able to escape and has not been taken into custody.
A witness told Denver7 she and her friend were eating at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille when the shooting occurred. She said it happened outside, between Macy’s and the Arhaus furniture store. While she didn’t hear gunshots, she said she saw a significant number of police cars and ambulance arrive to the mall.
The witness told Denver7 they couldn’t leave the restaurant because their car was parked in the valet area, near the shooting scene, and police had blocked it off as they investigate.
During a news conference late Thursday night, Lone Tree Chief of Police Kirk Wilson said the three officers involved in the shooting suffered minor injuries – a couple of bruises and sprains. Nobody from the public was injured. He said the 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) will take over the investigation.
If anyone has any information about this crime, you are asked to call Lone Tree Police at 303-799-0533.
This is the first officer-involved shooting in Lone Tree for 2019 and the 17th officer-involved shooting in Colorado this year.
