Witness: Children Nearly Caught In Crossfire Before Officer-Involved Shooting
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A Thornton police officer is on paid administrative leave as a critical incident team investigates a shooting at an apartment building.
The officer shot one suspect who was fleeing the scene of an earlier shooting in the same complex, the Creekside Apartments.
Shots first went off around 6:13 p.m. Saturday when police say some kind of disturbance broke out between several families that escalated.
An apartment resident reported to police that four suspects came to her home, caused a disturbance, and fired multiple shots as they ran off.
Nancy Bach, who lives in the next building over, was helping her niece lie down for bed when the gunshots went off.
"It's scary," Bach said. "Especially when they were right outside of her bedroom."
Witnesses told police that they saw multiple people firing weapons.
One resident said that her young children were nearly caught in the crossfire.
Police arriving on scene caught two of the four suspects, a man and a woman, who were hiding out at the mobile home park across the street.
"I have to give Thornton police kudos," Bach said. "They were here in nothing flat."
Another suspect ran through the complex, leading police on a foot chase.
According to police, an officer had an encounter with the fleeing armed suspect between Buildings 7 and 8, where the officer then fired his gun, shooting the suspect.
"I heard the shots. I heard, 'crank crank,'" said Delbert Hicks, who lives one building away from where the officer-involved shooting occurred.
In a neighborhood where crime is not uncommon, Hicks said that he is always aware of his surroundings.
"I go for walks and stuff like that, and kind of look around and make sure everything's okay."
As of last check, police said that the suspect who was shot was still in the hospital and was expected to survive. It was unknown what charges he or the other suspects would face.
Identities of the suspects were being withheld pending photo lineups.
One additional suspect who ran from the scene remained at large, and police were asking for the public's help to find him. He was described as a Hispanic male with a thin build, who was dressed in all black and wearing a bandanna covering his face.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
