Police believe a man who killed a 67-year-old woman at an Aurora church before being gunned down by an off-duty police officer ended up at the church randomly on April 22.
“It was total random, unfortunate circumstances that he ended up there,” said Aurora police Officer Frank Fania, a spokesman for the department.
Police say Kiarron Parker, 29, killed Josephine Echols during the bizarre Sunday afternoon shooting outside the Destiny Christian Center Church in the 10600 block of E. Bethany Dr. An off-duty Denver police officer who attends the church then shot Parker.
Based on statements from witnesses at the church and interviews with Parker’s friend, who he was with shortly before the shooting, Fania said investigators have an idea what happened before the shootings.
The friend told police he was with Parker on East Dartmouth Avenue when Parker became agitated for some reason and sped away in his car. The friend followed, Fania said, but lost sight of Parker. When the friend caught up a short time later, the shooting had already happened.
Investigators believe Parker was travelling at a high rate of speed when he tried to make a turn near the church and crashed into a parked car, Fania said.
Parker climbed out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at a church member who tried to help, but the gun malfunctioned. Fania said that while Parker worked to get the gun to fire, the first church member was able to flee.
“Ms. Echols was, unfortunately, the next person he saw,” Fania said.
Parker shot Echols several times before an off-duty Denver police officer, who was attending a church service at Destiny shot Parker. Parker and Echols were rushed to an area hospital where they both died.
Fania said the off-duty officer’s actions likely saved several people’s lives.
“It certainly had the makings to be a lot worse,” he said.
Investigators don’t believe Parker had any connection to the church and ended up crashing there at random. Why he came out of the car with a gun and shot at strangers will likely remain a mystery, Fania said.
“It’s very possible we may never know,” he said.
According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records, Parker had a lengthy arrest record dating back to 2001. Parker, who went by the nicknames “Snoop” and “Lil’ Snoop,” had done prison time on drug charges and also been arrested on traffic and weapons offenses, according to state records.
Before the shooting his most recent arrest came in February when he was arrested for driving with a restricted license in Aurora.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com
Where was the off-duty cop when he could have done some good again, at the movie theater? “It had the makings to be a lot worse.” No joke, Sherlock. Someone armed and trained to know how to return fire in a situation saved the church from becoming the Aurora Massacre. But of course, guns are the problem, right? Civilians shouldn’t have ’em, right? Boy, it was sure lucky for our side some copper went to church, isn’t it? Boy, it was sure unlucky for our side he didn’t go to the movies.