WESTMINSTER, Colo. — An armed suspect, who authorities said barricaded himself inside a bathroom at a Westminster home he was attempting to burglarize, surrendered to police after he was shot at by officers during an hours-long standoff Monday, according to a release from the Westminster Police Department.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injures, police said. It’s unclear if he was struck by gunfire.
Around 11:30 a.m., a homeowner in the 13800 block of Osage Court called police to report that an intruder had gained entry into his home through an open garage. The resident confronted the suspect and then fearing for his safety, ran out of his home, according to police.
Police arrived and began looking through the home for the intruder, who was eventually located in a locked bathroom. The resident told officers that there were firearms in the home and that the weapons had child locks in place, police said.
As officers began negotiations, the adult male suspect became belligerent and started yelling at the officers, stating that he was armed and was “going to come out shooting,” according to the WPD release.
At one point during negotiations inside the home, police said the suspect exited the bathroom with a rifle in his hands and raised the weapon toward officers, which prompted an officer to fire their weapon at the suspect. The man then immediately retreated back into the bathroom and negotiations resumed for an additional 30 minutes, after which the suspect left the bathroom again and peacefully surrendered to police.
No officers were injured during this incident. It is unknown if the suspect fired any rounds at officers, police said in the release.
The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Team will be conducting the investigation into this event.
The suspect is described by police as a 32-year-old white male with a lengthy criminal history to include prior burglary charges and an arrest warrant from the Department of Corrections for a parole violation.
