CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — An attempt to contact a driver in Thornton led to a chase down Interstate 25 into Castle Rock, where sheriff's deputies shot a suspect who had fired at Thornton officers during the pursuit, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) said.
DCSO took two suspects into custody: 37-year-old Hannah Woolard and 32-year-old Kyle Williamson. Deputies shot Williamson, and they expect him to survive. The sheriff said they will face several felony charges.
"I'm proud of my Douglas County Sheriff's Office deputies. They did a fantastic job," Sheriff Darren Weekly said.
Department of Corrections records show Williamson is out on parole from a 2011 conviction for child abuse and sexual assault.
Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, a Thornton police spokesperson said officers followed a suspected stolen vehicle, because it had the wrong plates. Officers followed the car out of Thornton, and they tried to stop it at West 55th Avenue and North Pecos Street in Denver. The spokesperson would not explain why officers followed the car out of Denver.
When officers tried to stop the car, police said someone fired shots at them and they drove away. Officers pursued the car, and police said shots were fired again near I-25 and East 58th Avenue. Police have not clarified if suspects shot at officers on the highway, or near the highway. Officers continued to pursue the suspects into Douglas County, which a spokesperson said was the right decision.
"Oh, absolutely. They followed southbound I-25 while conditions were good, ultimately terminating at about the area of Castle Pines," Thornton Police spokesperson Jesus Mendez said.
The suspects went onto West Wolfensberger Road from I-25 and then turned east onto West Plum Creek Parkway, Weekly said. Deputies deployed stop sticks near the Miller Activity Complex event center, according to Weekly.
The sheriff's office said they believe the driver also sideswiped two citizens' cars during the incident.
The pursuit ended when the suspects drove into the front of a 7-Eleven near South Wilcox Street and Plum Creek Parkway. A clerk and customer were inside the store. Both were unharmed, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies approached the truck and reported seeing the driver pull out a handgun, Weekly said. Deputies fired, hitting the man multiple times, the sheriff's office said.
'We will not tolerate this type of behavior in Douglas County. We will not tolerate suspects shooting at police officers," Weekly said.
Williamson was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive, the sheriff's office said. Woolard, who was the passenger in the car, was taken into custody and interviewed by police, Weekly said. She was not injured.
No officers or deputies were injured.
The deputies who fired shots were put on administrative leave per department policy, the sheriff's office said. The 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response team will investigate the shooting.
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