Armed carjacking suspect killed in Lakewood police shootout

An armed man suspected of carjacking a woman was fatally shot by police Wednesday after a chase in Lakewood.

Officers responded to West 4th Avenue and Carr Street after a woman called 911 at 10:29 a.m. to report that a man had pointed a gun at her and forcibly taken her minivan, John Romero said, Lakewood Police Department spokesperson. The woman told police she was sitting in her van when the man ran toward her vehicle.

Shortly afterward, an employee at a nearby Wal-Mart, 440 Wadsworth Blvd., called 911 to report that a man with a similar description had threatened employees with a gun minutes before the carjacking was reported.

Police found the van at 10:40 a.m. and began a pursuit, Romero said. Within minutes, the man tried to hit a police car, lost control and went onto a grassy embankment near West Sixth Avenue and Garrison Street.

The man got out of the van, refused to raise his hands and pointed a gun at police, Romero said. Officers began shooting at him and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lakewood Police are currently investigating an officer-involved shooting in the area of ​​4th and Wadsworth. Please avoid the area if you can.

— Lakewood Police (@LakewoodPDCO) May 8, 2024

According to a, six officers shot at the suspect Lakewood Police Department press release.

No officers were injured in the crash or shooting. The driver of a car struck in the crash was not injured, Romero said.

The officers involved will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team and a separate internal investigation, Romero said.

This is the second fatal police shooting in the Denver area in less than a week, after police in Aurora shot and killed an armed 28-year-old man who was a suspect in an apartment shooting on Saturday evening.

Sign up to get daily crime news delivered straight to your inbox.