FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A man who was shot by police near Colorado State University Saturday evening has died, a spokesperson for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said Sunday morning.
On Sunday, a woman approached Denver7 crews and claimed the suspect was her 19-year-old son, who she identified as "Jeremy." She declined to share her name or have her face recorded.
“In this situation, I don’t blame the police,” the woman told Denver7 reporter Amanda del Castillo. “He had an incredible heart. He just had problems with his mind.”
Colorado State University police department officers received a report of a man threatening to harm others. CSU police and Fort Collins Police Services arrived at the intersection of West Prospect Road and South Whitcomb Street and contacted the suspect, around 8:40 p.m.
“That’s true, he was, but that was part of his illness,” his mom said in response to the reported threats. She told Denver7 she believed it was an undiagnosed case of schizophrenia that took over her son and kept him in a dark place for the last year and-a-half.
“He just started to get really dark about things, and would react to them. Then he would be back to his old self,” she said.
When the police department contacted the man, the suspect was armed with a weapon, but neither police nor the sheriff's office would specify what kind of weapon the man had at the time of the shooting.
“They asked him to put the knife down and he didn't,” his mom said.
She said the change in Jeremy’s behavior surfaced more frequently, especially recently. She noticed it up until the moment she saw him last, “When he left the house, I knew something was going on. So, I called the police immediately.”
His internal battle brought him to the Aggie Village Apartments for reasons his mother couldn’t explain.
“The suspect was found to be armed with a weapon. Police fired at the suspect and struck him,” Sgt. Matt Johnson with Fort Collins Police Services told Denver7.
The suspect was taken to Medical Center of the Rockies where he later died from his injuries.
The 8th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team was notified and has responded to take over the investigation. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office will be the lead investigating agency. The investigation is ongoing
No officers were injured in the shooting, the department spokesperson told Denver7.
Fifth officer-involved shooting this week
This most recent shooting is the fifth officer-involved shooting in Colorado this week.
Two men died Friday after they were involved in two separate officer-involved shootings earlier that evening -- one happened in Westminster and the other in Larimer County. Authorities are still investigating what led to those shootings.
A woman was also killed in a police shooting after a police chase and carjacking that spanned three jurisdictions Friday morning.
And on Wednesday, police shot at a vehicle after a Littleton police officer was struck with stolen car. The suspect driver and vehicle remain at-large.
