DENVER – Two Denver police officers are expected to recover after they were injured when a suspect fired at them at 6th Avenue and Inca Street while they were responding to call of shots fired earlier in the day.
The shooting was reported by the Denver Police Department just after 2 p.m., about eight blocks west of Denver Health. Officials said in a tweet that the officers were taken to the hospital with good prognosis.
An informed source told Contact7 Chief Investigator Tony Kovaleski that one cop was shot in the abdomen and the other in the leg. Both were expected to survive, as of Sunday evening. During a news conference Sunday afternoon, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said the officers were in fair condition.
Police were asking residents to avoid the areas around 6th and 7th Avenues, Santa Fe Drive and Galapago Street. Santa Fe Drive was closed at 5th Avenue for an extended amount of time.
Neighbors standing near the scene were just asked to move back. I’m still hearing a lot of sirens. @DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/E6vu5Iv8Gr
— Meghan Lopez (@Meghan_Lopez) January 27, 2019
Speaking at a news conference late Sunday afternoon, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said police received the initial call of shots fired at around 11:41 a.m. As they responded to the scene, officers found one casing on a sidewalk. As they approached an address on Inca St., Hancock said, officers were fired upon. A SWAT officer was also injured in a crash as they were responding to the scene.
Just after 1:45 p.m., the police department said they issued a reverse call to homes in the area, notifying them of the evolving situation and to shelter in place.
"We need to be sure that the community knows to shelter in place and avoid the area until the situation is resolved," Pazen said during the news conference.
The injured officers, one a veteran and the other new to the force, were only identified as males by the police chief. The SWAT officer involved in the car crash was in good condition. The identity of the SWAT officer is unknown at this time. Watch the news conference in full below:
As police worked through the afternoon to force him out, flames and smoke could been seen coming out of the home where the suspect was believed to be barricaded. It took about 20 minutes for authorities to apprehend the man and load him into ambulance. The suspect remains at the hospital with an undisclosed injury.
Police said in a tweet roads in the area would reopen gradually, but that 6th Avenue would remain closed overnight eastbound from Santa Fe Drive as the investigation into the shooting continues.
"There's (sic) no additional threats to the community at this time," Pazen said during a second news conference early Sunday evening.
This is the 12th officer-involved shooting in Colorado in 2019. The last officer-involved shooting involving the Denver Police Department happened in October of last year.
As of 5 a.m. Monday morning, eastbound 6th Avenue remains closed from Inca Street to Galapago Street. Northbound Inca Street is closed between 6th Avenue and W. 7th Avenue. As of 5:40 a.m., police did not have an ETA for when the roads would reopen.
RELATED HEADLINES --
