Thornton police officer shoots and kills suspect outside Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center in Colorado

Thornton police were investigating a shooting near the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center Tuesday morning. A Thornton police officer was involved in the shooting with a suspect, who was an adult male, who was hospitalized and died.

The recreation center is located in the 11100 block of Colorado Boulevard.

According to police, it all started when a Thornton police officer noticed a vehicle driving erratically near the intersection of E. 112th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard shortly before 8 a.m. As the officer attempted to contact the driver, the adult male stopped but then ran away from the traffic stop.

That’s when another Thornton police officer who came to assist saw the male driver in a nearby parking lot. At that point, police said the suspect fired a gun at the officer, who then fired back, hitting him. The suspect was taken to the hospital where he died.

The officer was not injured. The suspect has not been identified.

CBS News Colorado’s helicopter flew over the scene, where several police vehicles were on scene with officers collecting evidence. There were several orange cones set up in the parking lot and a blue sedan with windows that looked like they had been shot out or broken.

A police motorcycle also lay on its side in the parking lot near the orange cones and the vehicle with broken windows.

The entrance and part of the parking lot were cordoned off with caution tape.

The investigation will be turned over to the 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team and the officer involved in this incident will be placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.