LAFAYETTE, Colorado — A car theft suspect is dead and a police officer is in recovery after a shooting at a Lafayette gas station Tuesday morning.
Lafayette Police said they tracked a stolen car to a Circle K at South Boulder Road, just east of Highway 287.
"I was very surprised the first time it was stolen because it's a 34 year old car," said Stacie Kirtley.
Kirtley said she didn't think anyone would want to steal her 1988 Toyota Camry.
But her beloved car, loaned to her by a good friend, was stolen twice in five days.
"The first time it was stolen was Tuesday morning," she said. "I really didn't have much hope of it being recovered."
Police were able to recover it a few days later. Kirtley said that it was found about a half of a mile from her home. She was excited to get her car back, but to her, the feeling wouldn't last long.
"And it was gone, again," she said.
She said she had just gotten her wheels back when the car was stolen again on Saturday.
On Tuesday morning, she found out where it was.
"My brother called very emphatically, 'Turn on the news! You car is on the news! I saw your car on the news!'" said Kirtley. "So sure enough there’s my car. Police tape around.”
Lafayette Police Deputy Chief Brian Rosipajla said around 1:22 a.m. on Tuesday, investigators got an alert from an automated license plate reader that there was a stolen car in the area.
"A lot of the stolen vehicles are being used in crimes in the metro area," he said.
Rosipajla said the alert brought them to a Circle K where they found Kirtley's stolen car at the pump with no one inside.
"One of the suspects ran to the vehicle and was confronted by one of our officers," he said.
Rosipajla said that the police officer was shot in the leg and then released from the hospital.
"The officer returned fire and the suspect is deceased," he said.
Kirtley said she's hoping the car is still drivable, once it's returned to her.
“One of the suspects died in the car, now I’m wondering what the condition of the car is going to be," she said.
She said that she's grateful that the officer's okay and also thankful that police were looking for her stolen car. Kirtley said she's a pet sitter and needs the vehicle to uphold her livelihood.
"For looking for an old car that is meaningless to most people but priceless to me," said Kirtley. "Thank God it wasn't a life threatening injury because that car is an '88 and definitely not worth a cop dying for."
The officer who shot the suspect is on paid administrative leave, while the Boulder County Critical Incident Response team investigates.
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