A detective with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was injured and a man was killed in a shootout near a Parker middle school Friday afternoon.
Sgt. Derek Castellano, a spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said their department got a call about a “suicidal party” at about 2:30 p.m. from a home near North Dixon Drive and East Lookout Drive.
Castellano said that as deputies arrived, a man was leaving the home in a recreational vehicle and that deputies followed. The sheriff’s impact unit was nearby and responded to assist.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, said the man shot at officers, striking Detective Dan Brite, a member of the impact unit.
Brite underwent surgery Friday evening and was transferred to ICU, the sheriff’s office said at about 10:30 p.m. Spurlock asked for prayers saying, “he is going to need every bit of that.”
After Brite was wounded, the suspect continued to flee in the RV. Castellano said the suspect drove the vehicle into a commercial parking lot just across from the Parker Adventist Hospital and crashed.
Officers engaged in another shooting with the suspect, killing him. The suspect has not been identified, but Spurlock said at an evening press conference that the suspect was known to the sheriff’s office.
Emergency dispatch traffic recorded on Broadcastify.com captured the incident just after Parker police officers and Douglas County sheriff’s deputies were surrounding the home and watching as the man got into the RV.
After a few minutes of observing his actions, law enforcement moved in.
“Let’s not let him get back in the house,” an unidentified officer called out.
“Guys, we don’t know if he has a weapon or not,” another said.
A few seconds later, action erupted over the radio.
“Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” an officer yelled. “Man down! One of ours!”
As medical personnel rushed in to where the law enforcement officer was wounded just outside of the home, the dispatch archives show, the suspect drove the RV away from the area and into an open field.
Police are investigating this camper after taking into custody a man with a gun.https://t.co/StnTU4z0Qq pic.twitter.com/5u8fKjo8LG
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) September 2, 2016
“He is driving around in the field east of the house!” an officer said into the radio.
More gunshots were then heard being fired.
Spurlock did not have information on the type of weapon the suspect used.
Spurlock said Detective Brite has been with department for two and a half years. His wife is a sergeant with the department. She and their children were at the hospital Friday night.
Randy Barber, a spokesman for the Douglas County School District, said there were about nine schools on lockout for a short time, but all were returning to normal operations by 4 p.m.
Barber said students at Sierra Middle School were being dismissed at the time that police asked them to lock their doors, so students were ushered back inside and, due to a miscommunication, were on lockdown for the first few minutes, until it was clarified that the threat was outdoors — at least a block and a half away, Barber said — and the school modified to go on lockout.
No children or schools were involved in the incident.