Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | One of three teenagers was hospitalized with minor injuries Wednesday morning after an Aurora police officer fired a gun during what investigators said was an apparent home burglary.
The officer-involved shooting occurred in the Tollgate Overlook neighborhood in Aurora about 8:30 a.m. after a 911 caller reported two “suspicious parties,” according to the Aurora Police Department.
The caller believed two girls and one boy, all believed to be about 15 years old, were attempting to burglarize a home near the area of East Tennessee Place and South Truckee Street, police said in a blog post on their website. After learning the trio was associated with a red Honda CRV that police say was stolen, police confronted the boy.
“The officer made the decision to discharge his weapon which did not strike the juvenile male,” a police blog said of the incident. “The juvenile male was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries. A handgun was recovered from the vehicle.”
The boy is in police custody and charges are still being determined, according to Officer Crystal McCoy, spokeswoman for the Aurora Police Department.
Citing an ongoing investigation, police did not specify whether investigators have contacted the two girls. The pair was still at-large as of 12:10 p.m. Jan. 8, according to tweets.
The circumstances that led to an officer firing a gun are uncertain, as well as how the boy was injured. While the officer’s identity is unknown, police said he is a 15-year veteran that hasn’t ever been involved in an officer-involved shooting while employed by the Aurora police.
Denver police and the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident, per state requirements when an officer-involved shooting occurs.