DENVER — A man who was shot in an officer-involved shooting outside a hotel on Monday has died, the Denver Police Department said Tuesday.
The Denver Medical Examiner said Ramone Lonergan, 32, died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Guests at a Ramada Inn near the intersection of Speer Boulevard and Zuni Street were allowed back into their rooms late Monday night after the shooting outside the hotel Monday afternoon.
Denver police officers were on the property just before 4 p.m. investigating a stolen vehicle. During their investigation, someone approached them to report another suspicious vehicle in the same lot.
Two officers approached the Toyota Rav4 and that’s when police said a man got out of the vehicle armed with a gun.
Shots then rang out.
“It was bam, bam, bam,” said Aaron Gamertsfelder, a construction worker who was on scaffolding across the street. “We kind of ducked a little bit and we were like ‘Whoa!’ You could smell the gun smoke right after it went off.”
Gamertsfelder said several of his co-workers hit the ground, worried about flying bullets.
The two officers involved were not injured, but police said the suspect was shot. He was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries. He has not been identified.
“An officer never knows what type of encounter they’re going to have,” said Doug Schepman, a Denver police spokesman.
Police are not saying who fired first or if the suspect even fired at all. Police are also investigating whether there is any connection between the stolen vehicle and the shooting.
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