ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Three men were found dead of apparent gunshot wounds in a home in Adams County north of Denver on Nov. 21, the Adams County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office said that night that four men were found dead, but the morning of Nov. 22 issued a correction saying three men were found dead inside the home. They said the discrepancy was due to a miscommunication.
The sheriff's office said around 4:25 p.m. Nov. 21, they were called to a home in the area of 84th Avenue and Franklin Drive to investigate a report of a possible gunshot victim. When first responders arrived, they had to force entry into the home. Inside, they found the men, who had died of apparent gunshot wounds.
The coroner's office on Nov. 28 identified the victims as Joseph Espinoza, 63, Ted Montoya, 82, and Timothy Frank, 64. The cause and manner of their deaths are pending further investigation, the coroner's office said.
Deputies said the shooting could have happened anytime within the past few days. A daughter of one of the victims went to the house to check on someone Nov. 21 and called 911 when they saw someone who appeared to have been shot, the sheriff's office said.
“It’s horrific,” sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Adam Sherman said. “Our collective hearts go out to them.”
Sherman said it appeared one of the men, the suspected shooter, died by suicide.
The suspected shooter lived at the home, the sheriff's office said. It was unclear whether either of the victims did.
Deputies found evidence that the shooting might have stemmed from a family dispute, the sheriff's office said.
“There was something that obviously led to this horrific incident, but we’re still sifting through information, family history, and various interpretations of the dynamics of the three people involved that might shine some light onto what may have happened,” Sherman said.
The sheriff's office said the two victims knew each other, and the suspected shooter was a relative of one of the victims.
“It really drives home the need to do the best job we possibly can to serve those surviving family members and give them, at the very least, answers to what may have happened so they can have some closure and work toward closure,” Sherman said.
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