ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Two teens were arrested and charged with attempted murder of a public official after dashcam video showed one of them shoot at an Englewood police officer who tried to pull them over earlier this week.
The officer tried to stop a red Jeep Grand Cherokee for a defective vehicle violation in the area of W. Dartmouth Ave. and S. Shoshone St. at around 11 p.m. Sunday.
A preliminary investigation shows the driver refused to stop and within a minute of the officer turning on his emergency lights indicating the driver to pull over, “over a dozen shots were fired directly at the Officer from a high-powered weapon out of the passenger side window,” according to a spokesperson with the Englewood Police Department.
Multiple bullets struck the front end, engine and windshield of the patrol vehicle, barely missing the officer, a news release states.
Dashcam video shows the moment the suspect fired the weapon at the pursuing officer, who is heard saying, “Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” before stopping for a brief time and continuing to chase the suspect vehicle.
View the dashcam video of the shooting in the player below.
The officer chased the vehicle through an industrial area and then into a neighborhood, where it crashed before the two teens fled on foot, according to the police department spokesperson.
Police said that the patrol car that was fired upon also stop running after sustaining gunshot damage to the engine.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including a bearcat, a tactical team and a K-9 unit. Reverse 911/CodeRed alerts were also sent to affected neighbors as police responded to the scene, but after a lengthy search for the teens, those alerts were canceled.
“A search of the suspect vehicle and surrounding area produced an AK 47 and numerous shell casings that were recovered from the scene of the shooting,” police said.
Investigators were able to identify both suspects after several days. One of them was arrested Monday, and the second was arrested the following day.
Both were facing charges of attempted first-degree murder of a public official, police said.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said on X, formerly Twitter, that one of the teens — a 17 year old — was being also being formally charged with accessory to a crime, vehicular eluding with a sentence enhancer of aggravated juvenile offender. Charges against the second teen, identified as a 16 year old, would be filed later in the month.
“These types of incidents remind us of the inherent dangers that Law Enforcement faces daily and we are eternally grateful that we can say no Officers or community members were injured during this incident,” the news release states.
Officers from the Sheridan Police Department, the Cherry Hills Police Department, deputies from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and R.A.V.E.N. (Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network) helped in the investigation.
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