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Aurora church shooting suspect shot, killed by police

Jose De Jesus Montoya Villa was shot and killed after a crime spree, police said. He was wanted in connection with a Friday shooting at an Aurora church.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The man accused of killing one person and injuring two others in a shooting at an Aurora church Friday was killed by police after a crime spree Wednesday afternoon, the Aurora Police Department (APD) said. 

Jose De Jesus Montoya Villa was killed in an encounter with police in the area of Highway 83/South Parker Road and East Jamison Avenue around 4:40 p.m. 

Police said the shooting came after a multi-scene crime spree that started around 3:45 p.m. in a parking lot at 820 North Dayton St. in Aurora. There, the suspect fired multiple shots, hitting a 26-year-old man, police said. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers are still working to determine what happened at that scene.

Then, in the same parking lot, Villa carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, police said. He was then involved in a hit-and-run crash in the area of 11th Avenue and Dayton Street around 3:57 p.m.

Then, around 4:10 p.m., Villa allegedly robbed a liquor store at 728 North Peoria St., police said. No one was injured in the robbery. 

The suspect then carjacked another victim in the area of Interstate 225 and Parker Road around 4:30 p.m., police said. 

That victim, Tiffany Randon, had no idea the man who police said stole her car was accused of murder. 

"He lifted up his shirt and I looked, saw the gun, and he then pulled it out and put it to my window, but at my head," Randon told 9NEWS. "I put my hands up and couldn't get out of the car quick enough. I had my seatbelt still on, so I'm choking myself, and the door was locked, and it was -- it was fight or flight." 

Around 4:40 p.m., officers saw the car turning eastbound on Jamison Avenue near the intersection with Highway 83/South Parker Road. Police tried to pull the car over, but the driver confronted them, and two Aurora officers fired shots at him, police said. Police said it's unclear whether or not Villa fired any shots, but no officers were injured.

Villa was taken to the hospital, where he died. 

Aurora police said on Sunday that Villa was wanted in connection with a shooting that killed 37-year-old Adela Maria Madrid and injured two men at Iglesia Faro De Luz at 538 North Olathe St. on Friday night.

Credit: KUSA

Police said they did not identify the crime spree suspect as Villa until after he died.

"I don't think investigators knew on Friday and through the coming days that this is how it was going to end," Aurora police spokesman Matthew Longshore said

"I am extremely relieved that my officers were not injured this evening," Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said in a tweet. "They stopped a dangerous criminal from further victimizing our community."

The APD is leading the investigation into the crime spree, while the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is leading the investigation into the shooting.

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Credit: Aurora Police Department
Jose De Jesus Montoya Villa

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