The suspect who died after a high-speed chase and subsequent police shooting was identified as a 23-year-old Denver man, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner announced on Wednesday.
Steven Nguyen died from gunshot wounds at the hospital, according to an autopsy, after he was shot following a chase with police originally initiated because of a possible connection to an escaped inmate.
Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez, also 23 years old, evaded Denver sheriff's deputies on Monday morning while at Denver Health Medical Center.
Undercover officers were surveilling a home in Aurora that was believed to have a connection to the inmate, who days later is still at large, when those officers saw a vehicle leave that home "at a high rate of speed."
Officers chased that SUV, which ended in a crash at 41st and Albion in northeast Denver on Monday evening.
Shots were fired at the end of the chase, striking both suspects -- Nguyen fatally -- in the vehicle. Sgt. John White with the Denver Police Department says at this time it's unclear who fired those shots -- whether it was officers or the suspects.
No officers were injured.
Nguyen's relationship to Venzor-Gonzalez has not been made public. The name of the second suspect in the SUV at the time of the chase hasn't been released, and his or her condition remains unclear.
Venzor-Gonzalez was last seen wearing a dark green colored uniform with the letters ‘CCMF,' which stands for Correctional Care Medical Facility. He's described as 5’7” tall and 140 pounds, and has black hair with brown eyes.
He is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
Anyone with any information about Venzor-Gonzalez is urged to contact police.
