AURORA, Colo. — A 50-year-old woman was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and two other people were hurt after two shootings Thursday night in Aurora that police believe were carried out by the same man.
Police on Friday identified the suspect as 34-year-old Austin Benson.
"We don't believe that the suspect knew any of these people," said Aurora Police spokesman Matthew Longshore.
RELATED: Person accused of randomly shooting 3 people in Aurora previously accused of similar shooting
According to police, the 50-year-old woman was shot while inside her vehicle around 9:20 p.m. in the 4400 block of South Eagle Circle and was taken to the hospital.
Following that shooting, the man drove to the area of South Crystal Way and East Tufts Place and shot a 36-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman who were walking together in the area. Police described their injuries as serious. The man then drove off, police said.
The two locations were about a half-mile from one another and not far from where East Smoky Hill Road intersects with East Quincy Avenue, just east of South Parker Road.
Officers found a vehicle in the 14300 block of East Tufts Place – the same area as the second shooting – that was damaged and was believed to have been involved in multiple crashes and bullet holes in it, Longshore said. He said he did not believe the crashes involved any of the shooting victims but said the damage "raised suspicions."
Officers then spotted a man matching the description of the shooter inside an apartment. Officers evacuated four people from a unit and took the man into custody. Benson was taken to a hospital as a precaution and then booked into the Aurora jail, where he was being held on three charges of attempted first-degree murder.
Three firearms were recovered in the apartment, Longshore said.
Police said early Friday morning that the motive and circumstances leading up to the shooting were unknown.
Trent Ellis said he lives across the hall from Benson. He said he was watching TV with his partner when he heard commotion outside the front door on Thursday night.
“There's only a door between you, you're looking out of, but it felt very personal, absolutely. I mean, everything was happening a few steps away,” Ellis said. “You always think you want to be the hero in that moment, but I was kind of freezing up, like I want to help, like you see a gun in a guy's hand, there's not much you can do.”
Ellis said it was shocking because he said "hi" to Benson frequently in passing, and Benson always appeared sweet with his kids.
"Seeing nothing but good things from them, as well, from the father and the mother being sweet with them," Ellis said. "They were playing with bubbles in the front yard literally the day before. So that was my only thought, was just wanting [the kids] to be safe."
East Smoky Hill Road was closed in both directions between Quincy Avenue and South Evanston Street while officers investigated.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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