AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Police said an officer exchanged gunfire with a man on Thursday afternoon, and the man later died at a hospital.
Police posted just before 3 p.m. that the shooting happened in the 11900 block of East 16th Avenue. That's near the intersection with Oswego Street, just west of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Officers initially responded to a community radio call around 1:30 p.m. reporting a fight in a parking lot in the area when the shooting took place. Police said they received multiple reports of two men fighting and at least one person with an AR-style rifle.
"The officers stopped their vehicle, approached the individual and made several contacts verbally to drop the weapon," Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said. "At that point, gunfire was exchanged by officers toward the individual with the weapon. The individual fell to the ground."
Chamberlain said investigators don't believe the man shot at any point. He did express concern and urgency for the potential threat of danger in an area with children.
"It’s really troubling," Chamberlain said. "To me, that’s really troubling. When you think of a school across the street, another location where it’s a hospital where children come to get services from across the nation. And that’s what they have to confront and deal with. So I'm thankful our officers were here, we can conclude this and I look forward to the investigation and what all unfolds."
The man was taken to a hospital where he died. No officers were shot, a police spokesperson said.
The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting.
The man killed in the shooting will be identified by the Adams County Coroner's Office.