ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A 22-year-old man died in a home Sunday night after his brother, who was also inside the home, shot at Englewood officers who then returned fire, according to an arrest affidavit.
Matthew Neal Mitchell "sustained gunshot wounds" in the incident and died from his injuries, according to the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office.
Phillip Blankenship, who is Mitchell's older brother, reported that Mitchell didn't fire a weapon and that he was the only one who fired shots from inside the home in the 5000 block of South Grove Street, according to the affidavit.
The incident began when Blankenship's mom called police about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, saying that he was intoxicated and causing a disturbance. She further stated that Blankenship was suicidal and had fired a gun inside the home, according to the document.
When Englewood Police officers arrived, they commanded Blankenship to exit the house. They heard a man say "give me a minute" and then heard the man say he was "almost ready" to come out, the affidavit says.
After that, however, Blankenship fired a single shot through the front window from inside the home toward a vehicle, the document says.
An officer who took cover behind the vehicle wasn't hurt, but the bullet did hit the vehicle's windshield, the affidavit says.
A second officer on the north side of the house across the street began "taking rounds which were coming from inside the house," according to the document. That officer's vehicle was struck, but the officer wasn't hit.
Englewood officers returned fire, and Blankenship came out of the home and was arrested, the affidavit says.
Mitchell was inside the home and suffered a fatal gunshot wound, the affidavit says.
Read the full affidavit below:
When interviewed, Blankenship told investigators that he had attempted to kill himself in the past, and on the day of this incident, he argued with his grandmother and threatened to kill himself.
He admitted that during that argument, he fired a single shot in the basement of the home, according to the affidavit.
Blankenship told investigators that his mother and grandmother said they were calling police, so he barricaded himself in his bedroom. He reported that Mitchell was in the room with him, the affidavit says.
He said that he saw the officers and fired one shot at the officer in the driveway because "he wanted the police to kill him," according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Blankenship told investigators the following:
- He was the only one shooting at officers.
- His brother was not shooting at police.
- There was no other shooting in the house other than the single shot fired in the basement.
The officers who fired their guns were placed on administrative leave per department policy, EPD said.
The 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is investigating the shooting.
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