Pueblo officer hits, kills armed shoplifting suspect, state patrol says

A Pueblo police officer struck and killed a shoplifting suspect who brandished a handgun and refused to follow orders, Colorado State Patrol officials said Tuesday.

The encounter started at 1:23 p.m. when police tried to contact a person suspected of shoplifting at a Famous Footwear in the Pueblo Crossing shopping center in north Pueblo.

The person ran away from officers, who followed on foot and in a patrol vehicle. At one point the suspect ran toward the front entrance of the state patrol’s Pueblo office while brandishing a handgun. After they refused to drop the gun, a Pueblo police officer hit them with a vehicle, CSP officials said in a news release. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

Further details about the fatal crash were not available Tuesday night, including whether the officer was trying to stop the suspect by crashing into them and any identifying information about the person killed. The incident is under investigation, Colorado State Patrol officials said.

The 10th Judicial District Critical Response Team is also investigating the case.

This is a developing story and may be updated. 

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *