Police shot and killed one woman and injured a second woman following a carjacking and high-speed chase that traversed Littleton, Englewood and Denver before police stopped the alleged robbers.
No officers were struck by bullets in the early Friday morning shootout. One woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital where she is in critical condition, said Cmdr. Barb Archer of the Denver Police Department’s major crimes division. The women’s names and ages have not been released.
Earlier reports indicated the women fired shots at police officers, but during a late-morning news conference, Archer said she could not confirm that.
Archer also said she could not say how many officers fired shots nor whether the officers who fired their weapons were from Littleton or Englewood. Denver police had not arrived at the scene when shots were fired, she said.
Denver homicide detectives are investigating because the chase ended in Denver, said officer Marika Putnam. The Aurora Police Department and Denver District Attorney’s Office also are investigating the shooting.
“The crime scene is very active,” Putnam said. “We’re investigating this as an aggravated motor vehicle theft and shooting.”
The northbound lanes of South Santa Fe Drive were closed at West Iowa Avenue while police investigated, according to a Denver Police Department tweet.
The alleged carjacking happened in Littleton just before midnight, Archer said. The victim called 911 to report that two men and two women had fired a shot toward him while stealing his vehicle, she said. The carjacking victim was not injured.
Littleton police officers spotted the stolen vehicle on Santa Fe Drive near Arapahoe Community College about 5 minutes after the 911 call. Two women were inside, and police are searching for the men that reportedly were involved in the carjacking, Archer said.
The stolen vehicle fled after pursuing officers turned on their lights and sirens, Archer said.
The suspects sped north on Santa Fe Drive. Englewood police joined the pursuit when the chase crossed into Englewood, Putnam said.
#UPDATE on shooting on Santa Fe DPD investigating officer involved shooting involving Littleton & Englewood PD NB Santa Fe closed @ Iowa Ave
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) June 30, 2017
The Littleton officers twice tried to stop the suspect vehicle by intentionally hitting it, but the driver did not lose control and kept going, Archer said.
On the officers’ third attempt to bump the suspect car, it crashed near Louisiana Avenue and Bannock Street, which is about 6.5 miles from where the chase began, Putnam said.
“The car comes to a stop,” Archer said. “The officers fired their weapons.”
When asked if the suspects shot at officers, Archer said, “I can’t answer that.”
Investigators were executing a search warrant on the suspect vehicle, and interviews are still being conducted, Archer said at the news conference.
“We’re still fresh in the investigation,” she said.
