AURORA, Colo. — Court documents obtained by Denver7 Monday say the man accused in a June triple shooting in Aurora apologized to his first victim before driving off and shooting two more people.
Officers with the Aurora Police Department were dispatched to a report of a traffic crash with shots fired in the 4400 block of South Eagle Circle around 9:21 p.m. on June 27. When officers arrived, they found a 50-year-old woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her torso. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
According to court documents, witnesses told officers that a red SUV crashed into some parked vehicles on the street. A man with an eye patch then got out of the vehicle with a rifle and began firing, the affidavit says. After the shooting, the man got back into the red SUV, which had suffered front bumper damage, and took off.
One witness said the man seemed ""off," believing the male was potentially under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs," according to the affidavit.
Investigators located the bumper at the scene, which had a Colorado license plate. They also found 10 to 15 "large caliber fired cartridge casings" in a nearby driveway.
A house across the street and a nearby truck were struck by bullets during the shooting, according to court documents.
A few minutes later, around 9:28 p.m., the Aurora Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call about a second shooting that happened 0.4 miles away in the 4600 block of East Crystal Way. Officers found two people — a 35-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman — inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. They were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Aurora PD told Denver7 on Monday that all three victims survived their injuries.
Investigators ran the license plate and connected it to a red 2018 Nissan Rogue that was registered to an apartment in the 14200 block of East Tufts Place. Authorities descended upon the complex and located the vehicle, which "sustained apparent bullet strikes and heavy front end damage," according to court documents.
Aurora police surrounded the apartment where the vehicle was registered and told everyone inside to come out. Four people exited the apartment, but a fifth person — a man with an eye patch — was seen "leaning out a window on the west side of the apartment," the affidavit states. Authorities told the man to come out, but he refused "because of the broken window glass." The affidavit says officers were able to control his hands while others entered the apartment and took him into custody without incident.
The man was later identified as Austin Benson, 35. Officers found a silver Ruger 1911 .45 caliber handgun in his front waistband during his arrest, according to court documents. They also reportedly spotted an AK-47-style rifle between the washing machine and the wall in the laundry room during an initial sweep of the apartment.
Benson was taken to the hospital for treatment and later booked into the Aurora Municipal Jail. During his time in the hospital, officers reported that he "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown narcotic and was administered Narcan by hospital staff as a precaution," the affidavit says.
Benson's family members told officers that he was taking medication for hallucinations and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to court documents.
Aurora
Three people injured in shooting late Thursday evening, Aurora police say
Investigators interviewed the woman who was shot in the second shooting at the hospital. The victim explained that she and the driver shared the vehicle they were in.
The affidavit says the two were driving to drop the man off at work when they spotted a vehicle with only one headlight driving towards them in their lane on East Tufts Avenue approaching Smoky Hill Road. The man, who was driving at the time, swerved a few times to avoid a crash, but the oncoming vehicle "swerved in the same direction." The woman told investigators she thought the other driver was "intentionally mimicking" their movements, according to court documents.
The man swerved one last time to avoid the crash. The two thought that the other driver was suffering from a medical episode, so they turned around to go check on them. The woman said as they got close to the other vehicle, the driver "exited the driver's door holding a firearm and ran to the back of his vehicle and began firing at them," the affidavit states.
Both victims were shot multiple times. The man drove away from the scene while the suspect allegedly continued to fire at them. Once they got far enough away, they pulled over and called the police.
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Investigators spoke with the daughter of the first victim, who was in the vehicle with her mom at the time of the shooting.
According to the daughter, the two were driving home after dinner when they noticed a red SUV parked in their driveway. The daughter noticed that the driver's door was open.
The mother, who was driving, stopped short of the driveway as they tried to figure out whose vehicle was in the driveway. According to court documents, while they were idle, the daughter "heard a loud gunshot, immediately followed by [her mother's] window shattering, spraying broken glass all over [the daughter's] face." The daughter heard several more shots "in rapid succession."
After the shooting stopped, the daughter noticed that her mom had been shot multiple times. The daughter said she was tending to her mom when the shooter "walked up to [her mother's] shattered window and just stared into the vehicle." She told investigators he had an eye patch and was carrying an AK-47-style rifle.
The daughter told authorities that the man "looked like "he wasn't there." When asked to explain what that meant, [the daughter] stated that the male looked as though he was on drugs or going through a manic episode," the affidavit states. After a few seconds of silent staring, the man "simply walked away," the daughter recalled.
As the man walked away, several family members came out of the house and tended to the injured mother. The court document says that "at some point, the shooter walked back to their car and said something to the effect of, "Oh s***, I am sorry. You aren't the only ones, I shot multiple people before this."" The man then got back into his car and drove off, running over his own bumper in the process, according to the affidavit. A few moments later, the daughter heard several more shots.
Investigators also talked to one of the victim's sons, who was inside the home at the time of his mother's shooting. He said after hearing a crash in front of his home, he looked outside and noticed a red vehicle that had struck his brother's vehicle.
The son opened the front door and noticed a man walking toward him while holding a rifle. The man reportedly said "he was sorry for crashing into the vehicle and stated that people were "trying to get him."" The son then closed the door and told the other people in the house what happened.
The affidavit says the son looked out the peephole and noticed the man in the yard next to the tree. The man reportedly lifted the rifle and began to shoot at a white pickup truck that was parked in front of the home.
The son turned off the lights and ran downstairs, where his brother was sitting on the couch. He remembered his mother was going to be home soon and called her cell phone. The son told investigators his mother answered, and all he heard was her "breathing heavily and crying," according to court documents.
The affidavit says the son ran outside and saw the shooter staring into his mother's vehicle. The son told investigators the man looked "vacant," and he thought the alleged shooter "might have been on drugs or high as he had "white eyes" and did not look right."
The man was still holding the rifle when the son approached him. The son said he tried to grab the firearm while the man stared into the vehicle. The man then reportedly realized what was happening, pulled the gun away and walked back to his red SUV.
The son tried to drive his mother to the hospital. He told investigators he heard about five more gunshots when he was driving away. As the son was traveling on South Eagle Circle, he saw police officers and flagged them down.
Several other family members also told investigators the alleged shooter "did not look right," according to the affidavit.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Benson's apartment on June 28. His affidavit states investigators seized several items, including:
- A "multitude of different medications" that were prescribed to Benson
- A 9mm MP Shield semiautomatic handgun. A magazine that contained eight live 9mmm rounds was inside the firearm.
- A Century RAS 47 rifle, which investigators described as an "AK-47 rifle variant." Court documents state it had one live round loaded in the chamber and a loaded magazine that was inserted into the magazine well. According to the affidavit, the firearm shoots 7.62 x 39 ammunition — the same caliber of ammunition that was recovered from both shooting scenes.
- A loaded 7.62 x 39 caliber magazine that was located on the floor of the bathroom that's attached to the bedroom where Benson was taken into custody
According to his affidavit, investigators also looked into Benson's criminal history and learned that he had been arrested at least five times in Colorado since 2008. One of those arrests was for three attempted first-degree murder charges out of Douglas County in 2018. That case was dismissed in Oct. 2023, according to court documents.
Benson was also arrested in Douglas County in 2019 for assault on an officer and bond violation. That case was also dismissed, according to his affidavit.
Benson faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the June incident. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
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