AURORA, Colo. – Four teens remained in custody on Friday and face charges of attempted first-degree murder, among other counts, after allegedly stealing a vehicle and later firing shots at police.
The incident began with the report of a stolen vehicle just after 8 p.m. on Thursday in the 24200 block of East Mexico Avenue when a caller to 911 said their Kia Sportage had just been stolen from a garage.
At around 9 p.m., uniformed Aurora police officers in an unmarked vehicle located the Kia near 17th Avenue and Trenton Street in Denver, according to a news release.
While officers tracked the stolen vehicle to 21st Avenue and Ulster Street, someone in the Kia fired shots at police.
While at least one bullet struck the police vehicle, both officers were not hurt, according to Aurora police. Two other nearby vehicles were also struck, but both were unoccupied.
Officers did not return fire as police chased the vehicle across portions of the north metro Denver area, with Denver police officers joining the pursuit.
The suspects – one 15 and the other three age 16 – fled the alleged stolen vehicle after a tire went flat in the 1700 block of Cathay Court.Aurora police said just before, officers attempted a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle but it was ‘unsuccessful,’ according to the release.
After a search, the four suspects were detained at the Arapahoe County Juvenile Detention Facility held on two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count each of second-degree burglary and aggravated motor vehicle theft, police said.
Initially, it was believed one of the suspects was an adult, but Aurora police later updated to say all four were minors, which are not being identified.
Aurora
Aurora police investigating one adult, multiple minors suspected of stealing car
APD processed the three separate scenes and found over 20 shell casings which police said were believed to have been fired by the suspects. Multiple firearms were also recovered by APD, according to the release.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP.
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