One dead after domestic violence call escalates into officer-involved shooting in Elbert County
ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Deputies say a man is dead after a domestic violence call escalated into the suspect barricading himself inside a trailer in Elbert County and shooting at law enforcement.
According to the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement received a call for an ongoing physical domestic violence incident at around 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday at a location just off County Road 77.
Deputies arrived on scene minutes later and located the suspect in a fifth-wheel trailer, armed with a handgun.
According to the sheriff's office, he refused to listen to requests from deputies to put the gun down and come out of the trailer unarmed, leading them to strike him with "less lethal rounds." He then retreated into the trailer.
When negotiators spoke to the suspect, he told them his back had been hurt by the less lethal rounds fired at him. EPSO said the suspect continued to refuse negotiators’ and deputies’ commands to exit the trailer peacefully.
At that point, the Elbert County SWAT team was sent to the scene. According to the sheriff's office, the decision was made shortly after to insert pepper ball rounds into the trailer in an attempt to get the suspect out.
But when law enforcement shot the pepper balls through the trailer door window, the suspect responded by firing at least two rounds towards the deputies, but no deputies were injured.
Three deputies returned fire at around 9:42 p.m., the sheriff's office said. After firing, deputies attempted to make contact with the suspect for another hour, but did not hear from him.
To analyze the scene, law enforcement sent two separate drones into the trailer, through which they could see the suspect laying motionless. The SWAT team then entered the trailer, where they found the suspect dead, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office said it is not yet publicly identifying the suspect.
The involved deputies are on administrative leave per department policy while the 23rd Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team investigates the shooting.
