COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — Police said multiple officers shot someone who opened fire on them during a homicide investigation near Fairfax Park.
Police Chief Clint Nichols said there are two investigations underway: a homicide investigation, after a man was found shot dead near the park, and an officer-involved shooting investigation, as officers and a shooter exchanging gunfire near the homicide scene.
Nichols identified the person who shot at police as male and said at 10 p.m. that he was in surgery with multiple gunshot wounds.
The department said in a release around 10:30 p.m. that there were no other suspects at large. Police had surrounded a nearby home after the shooting on suspicion of a second suspect.
What happened
Nichols said police were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. to a shots fired call near the park. On arrival, police found a man down from an apparent gunshot wound.
Witnesses described a suspect to police, Nichols said. Officers pursued someone who matched that description and followed them southbound, but when police contacted that person in a nearby alley, they said they had nothing to do with the shooting.
Nichols said officers believed that person was not involved in the homicide. But as they spoke with that person, a shooter opened fire on them in the alley.
A gunshot went through an officer’s sleeve, Nichols said. That officer returned fire, along with five other police officers. The shooter was hit and transported to a hospital.
Neighbors received a reverse 911 alert to stay in their homes as the investigation took hold.
The officer who escaped a gunshot wound has been on the police force for 16 years, Nichols said.
Watch the full Commerce City police press conference in the FOX31 NOW player at the bottom of this story.
Youth football players OK
The shooting happened as youth football practice was underway at Fairfax Park. A coach with Commerce City Youth Athletics said in a Facebook post that everyone involved with the practice was safe and accounted for.
The children were held at the field with the “team mom” until parents were able to reunite with them around 8 p.m.
A parent said practice had been underway for about 10-15 minutes when they first heard gunshots. The scene was frantic as the adults rushed to make sure the children were kept safe.
“They grabbed all the kids and put them in the back of the cars,” one father told FOX31.
Watch the full Commerce City police press conference in the FOX31 NOW player below.