AURORA | A six-hour standoff ended Friday when one man was arrested by police after he reportedly fired several shots near the Southeast Aurora apartment complex and then barricaded himself in his apartment.
The man was not identified, and he was arrested without incident after he left the apartment.
The standoff, which began around 8 a.m., ended around 2 p.m. after speaking with the man by using a bullhorn.
“You have a lot to live for. You have your son, your buddies. It doesn’t have to go down like this,” police yelled to barricaded gunman.
Officers said the man may be a veteran and said that they “don’t want to see another soldier get hurt.”
Police evacuated numerous apartments and blocked access to the Sonoma Resort Apartments near Saddle Rock at Rome Street and Arapahoe Road.
According to police spokesman Sgt. Chris Amsler, no one was injured from the gunfire. Neighbors reported the shots at about 8 a.m. Friday morning at the apartment at 22200 block of East Ottawa Drive.
Initially, police said the man fired shots into the air. But a neighbor, who said she witnessed the man shooting, said the man fired shots down the street. Men in a white utility pickup truck appeared pick up the shell casings before police arrived, according to the neighbor. It was unclear who the men were, or how they were involved.
“I didn’t see what he was shooting at,” Kara Schar, who lives nearby, said. “A few other people were standing around the truck and then got back in. It was all very casual. That’s why I was confused, they didn’t appear to be in a hurry.”
For residents of the apartment complex, the 6-hour standoff was frustrating.
A resident of the complex, Ryan Ball, 36, said his wife and 2-year-old daughter were stuck inside their home and not allowed in or out during the standoff. Ball said he had just moved to the area six weeks ago and that they selected the location because it seemed safe.
More as the story develops. Follow @AuroraSentinel on Twitter for updates