A Lakewood police officer was killed and three more officers were wounded on Thursday evening, November 5, when a suspect opened fire on them beside a Regional Transportation District (RTD) bus in Lakewood, Colorado, about five miles west of downtown Denver. The suspect was shot by police and pronounced dead at the scene. A civilian was also injured and taken to a local hospital.

Source: Fox News / KDVR

Lakewood police said officers were sent to the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. after a report of a suspicious person. When they arrived, they found a man attempting to board an RTD bus. Within seconds of the officers approaching him, the man opened fire, striking four officers, according to Lakewood Police Public Information Officer John Romero, who briefed reporters at a news conference on Thursday night.

What police say happened at the bus

“Within seconds of agents approaching the suspect, the suspect opened fire on our agents,” Romero said. Lakewood police use the title “agent” for their officers. “We are very sorry to report that one of those agents has been pronounced dead of their injuries,” he added. Police did not immediately release the names of the four officers, the extent of the surviving officers’ injuries, or the condition of the wounded civilian.

Police said the suspect was connected to a hit-and-run earlier in the day, but they had not released further details about that incident or about the suspect’s identity on Thursday night, and no motive had been given. The RTD said the shooting happened aboard one of its buses serving Route 76 in Lakewood, and the agency said it was “deeply concerned” by what had happened. A witness inside a nearby business told CBS Colorado that he heard the gunfire.

The governor and the transit agency react

Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a statement after the shooting. “Law enforcement put their lives on the line for our safety everyday and I am heartbroken to learn that a Lakewood Police Agent was killed in the line of duty this evening,” Polis wrote. “My heart goes out to their family and friends,” he continued. “My thoughts are also with the three agents who are still receiving care at area hospitals, as well as the civilian who was wounded, and I wish them a full and speedy recovery. Thank you to law enforcement who run into danger to keep us safe and to protect our communities.”

The RTD said in its own statement: “Our thoughts are with those affected directly by this incident. The safety and well-being of our customers, employees, and partners remain our highest priority.” Polis said the Colorado State Patrol was assisting at the scene and taking part in a procession from the hospital honouring the fallen officer.

The investigation

The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, with support from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. That is the standard arrangement in Colorado for shootings involving officers: a separate team investigates the use of force rather than the department whose officers were involved.

Why this matters in Lakewood

West Colfax Avenue is one of Lakewood’s busiest corridors, and the Wadsworth Boulevard intersection sits in a heavily travelled commercial area served by RTD’s Route 76. The shooting stopped bus service and closed roads around the intersection on Thursday evening while officers, ambulances and investigators worked the scene, and it has left the Lakewood Police Department — a department that calls its officers agents — grieving a colleague killed in the line of duty.

What happens next

Police had not released the officers’ names, the suspect’s identity, or updated conditions for the three wounded officers and the civilian as of Thursday night. The Critical Incident Response Team’s investigation is continuing, and further information is expected from Lakewood police as the inquiry moves forward. Anyone who was in the area of West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard on Thursday evening and saw what happened is being asked to contact investigators.

Source: ABC News

Sources: Fox News, reporting from KDVR; ABC News; CBS Colorado; and the International Business Times, for the RTD Route 76 detail and the witness account.

Source: Fox News / KDVR