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Man arrested on 12 counts of attempted murder after Aurora shooting spree

An Aurora police officer fired a shot during the search for the suspect, police said. No injuries were reported in any of the shootings.

AURORA, Colo. — A suspect is in custody on 12 counts following a shooting spree in Aurora Monday night, according to the Aurora Police Department. 

The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Eugene Robertson.

Aurora police said just before midnight on Monday, they were called to the 7-Eleven at 599 S. Airport Blvd. for a report of shots fired. The clerk reported a man entered the store with a handgun and fired at least one round in the store, APD said.

The man then left the store and fired more rounds in the parking lot before leaving in a car, according to APD.

While officers were at the 7-Eleven, they learned the same man had threatened someone at the Burger King across the street at 620 S. Buckley Rd. before arriving at the 7-Eleven, police said.

At 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, police began getting calls from 18091 E. Kentucky Ave. about a man who shot through the door of an apartment, police said.

It was Shannon Walker's apartment that police say Robertson shot at. Walker and Robinson are neighbors, she said. Late Monday night, she got an unexpected knock at her door. 

"I'm wondering 'Who is trying to get into my house?'" she said. "I saw that it was Gene, so I tiptoe away and I say, 'Don’t say anything. It’s just Gene. He’ll go away.' I thought he would go away."

She said sometimes she chats with him and picks up his young daughter from the bus stop. 

"He started banging even louder -- really, really loud," Walker said. "He starts screaming my name, 'Ms. Shannon! Ms. Shannon! Ms. Shannon! Open the door! I want to talk to you!'"

She said she asked him to come back tomorrow because they'd been sleeping. 

"Then he started firing through my door," Walker said. 

Her daughter, 6-year-old grandson and 15-year-old granddaughter were sleeping in the living room. Bullets flew past them. 

"If my grandson would've sat up, the bullet would've got him," Walker said. 

She called 911 around midnight, but said no one picked up. She said she called multiple times before getting through to someone about 20 minutes later. 

Aurora911 said in a statement that they received multiple calls for shots fired at Robinwood Condominiums. It went on to say that this event occurred within minutes of a previous shooting at 7-Eleven, which also resulted in a high volume of incoming calls. 

In regards to the timeline of the E. Kentucky call response, Aurora911 said: 

"The reporting caller made a total of three calls to 9-1-1 within one minute and 28 seconds before connecting in person with a 9-1-1 professional. Each time the caller disconnected and redialed 9-1-1, they placed themselves at the back of the queue. This is an example of why we strongly encourage callers to always remain on the line when dialing 9-1-1, to ensure callers connect with a 9-1-1 professional in the fastest manner possible. Not only does hanging up and calling back delay connection time during a fast-moving, high-volume event such at this one, but it also requires 9-1-1 professionals to return every abandoned call, removing them from availability to answer new incoming calls."

Meanwhile, she said, they saw Robertson sitting in his car outside as they were waiting for police to arrive. 

"We're scattering everywhere, scared to death. I'm afraid. My kids are here. What am I going to do? Why is he doing this?" Walker said. 

She said she has seen strange behavior from Robertson before. She worried it was mental health issues and drug addiction. 

She said the last time she talked to him was just a couple of days ago. 

"I’ve helped this man a lot and I’ve seen him go down a bad path. I just told him four days ago, 'Something is on you. Something else is bothering you,' because he was going through something. He just kept crying and crying," Walker said. "His mind wasn’t right. He wasn’t in the right place and I didn’t like the way he was talking. He was being very volatile and that’s not the Gene I know. That’s not him."

Now, she's holding her family close, grateful none were taken from her. 

"I'm just thankful no one was hurt," Walker said.

When officers arrived at the apartment, they found the same car that was described at the 7-Eleven and Burger King scenes, according to APD.

Officers began searching the area for Robertson. During the search, an officer found Robertson and fired one round, APD said. Nobody was injured in the shooting.

Robertson was arrested on 12 counts of attempted murder, two counts of menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm and possession of a weapon by a previous offender, according to police.

The 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shot fired by police. 

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