AURORA, Colo. — A man armed with a knife was shot and killed by Aurora police on a Regional Transportation District bus on Colfax Avenue Sunday evening, the Aurora Police Department said.
Police said the shooting happened on a #15 bus near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Moline Street.
Interim Police Chief Dan Oates said the situation began around 6 p.m. Sunday. The man was attending a work release program for Arapahoe County-monitored prisoners at a facility in the area of Colfax and Moline. The facility is for people who have been sentenced and have mental health and substance abuse issues, Oates said.
Oates said an Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office deputy was called to the facility because the man had violated rules and was causing a disturbance, and the sheriff's office policy dictated that he be taken into custody and returned to jail.
The deputy found the man in the area of Colfax and Moline. He "was reported to be armed with a large knife," Oates said. The deputy called for police assistance, and while he was doing so, the man crossed Colfax and went into a convenience store, Oates said. Dispatchers then got calls about an armed robbery in that store.
The man then went to the bus stop on the northwest corner of the intersection and got on a bus that was stopped there, Oates said. Aurora police officers got on the bus and used a taser and a K9 on the man, which were ineffective, Oates said. There was a confrontation, and two officers fired shots, he said.
The man was shot inside the bus. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 6:30 p.m. Police said he was 35 years old. His name has not yet been released.
No other injuries were reported.
Oates said all of the officers involved were in uniform and wearing body cameras, and additional video will likely be available from inside the bus. He also said investigators are speaking to several people who witnessed the shooting. Aurora police are asking anyone who saw the shooting and has not talked with police to contact them.
The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the shooting. RTD said they are cooperating with the investigation. The officers who fired shots were placed on administrative leave per APD policy.
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