Man killed in police shooting appeared to have a gun, but it was an airsoft gun

Above is the unedited video distributed by the Colorado Springs Police Department. Viewer discretion is advised.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has released body camera footage of a police shooting that occurred on Aug. 22, 2025.

CSPD says that around 2:48 p.m. on the 22nd, they located a car belonging to a suspect who was wanted for first-degree kidnapping.

The police department says detectives began trailing the car. CSPD says the parked in the 1100 block of Branding Iron Circle, and officers approached the car to put the suspect under arrest. CSPD says the suspect, 42-year-old Cole Vannuci, refused to exit the car and tried to drive away.

An officer then used an impact round to break the back window of the car and deploy tear gas into it, police say. In the video, you will hear officers mention "a 40," referencing a 40 millimeter impact round.

CSPD says at that point, officers saw Vannuci had what they believed to be a gun. Police say he then confronted them with the weapon, and officers fired shots at the suspect.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later learned that what he had was an airsoft gun, which police say was made to look like an MP5 rifle. They also say the gun did not have orange safety indicators.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation into the use of force, and the report will be sent to the district attorney's office for review.

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