Man fatally shot by Aurora cop was brandishing a ‘replica’ assault-style rifle, police say

AURORA | A man fatally shot by an Aurora Police officer Oct. 3 after an attempted robbery in an Aurora apartment parking lot was carrying what was described as a replica of an assault-style rifle, according to Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain.

Chamberlain called a press conference Monday to provide further details on the shooting but did not provide officer-worn body camera video, now a standard feature days after officer-involved shootings. Police said the release awaits contact with the dead man’s family before a public release.

Chamberlain said the shooting began at about 1:30 p.m. when a resident at Brent’s Place, on the 1600 block of Oswego Street, called police to say two men outside in a parking lot were fighting, and one appeared to be armed with an assault-style rifle.

The man has not yet been identified by the Adams County coroner.

The man was allegedly trying to steal another man’s car keys by brandishing a “tactical replica” of an assault-style gun. It was also described as a “tactical air rifle.”

The suspect and victim struggled for a while before the suspect struck the victim in the head with a rock, witnesses told police.

The suspect then walked down the street and pulled the air rifle from his nearby van while trying to intimidate community members with it, including threatening a woman on the street, Chamberlain said. 

“That replica of a tactical air rifle looks exactly the same as an authentic AR-15,” Chamberlain said. 

When police arrived, the suspect was told repeatedly by police to drop the weapon. He pointed it at the officers, and one officer fired two rounds. The gunfire struck the man and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.

Chamberlain said it is still unknown whether the replica weapon can fire anything or if the man attempted to fire the air gun.

“I don’t know why he felt the need to continue on and escalate that once the officers arrived,” Chamberlain said, “but what I do know is that those officers responded to a very, very fluid, a very, very dangerous situation, and they took the action that at that time, and their perception in their mind was the only due course that they could take.”

The investigation is ongoing, and Chamberlain said police are searching for questions about the suspect’s actions. He plans to contact family and friends to pinpoint the cause.

The suspect was said to be visiting his girlfriend at apartments where the shooting took place shortly before the incident happened. 

“We think that in this apartment complex is a possible girlfriend of our suspect, and from what we know from initial conversations with her is that she was intimidated, she was afraid of his actions and his behavior, and she didn’t let him into that apartment,” Chamberlain said.

Investigators said it appears the man was living in the van outside Brent’s Place where he retrieved the air rifle.   

Brent’s Place provides housing for families with children or adults receiving long-term health care at one of several healthcare institutions nearby at the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Speaking to questions about whether a mental-health crisis unit should have handled the 911 call, Chamberlain said that with the appearance of an assault rifle and the extent of the violence the man was showing at the time, police were the required approach.

Chamberlain said it was “alarming” that a fight involving someone armed with an “AR-style” weapon occurred where dozens of families stay for healthcare and nearby a middle school.

Chamberlain did not offer details about the officers involved in the shooting other than that they were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard police protocol.

Parallel to the Aurora investigation into the shooting, a Critical Incidence Response Team was assembled to provide a separate investigation. Under state law, CIRT units, comprising the district attorney and other metro police departments, make determinations on whether shootings are justified, or whether criminal charges are warranted.