Investigation in Denver after 12-year-old in stolen car reportedly shot by car’s owner

DENVER, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Police Department said Thursday an investigation is underway after a car theft and shooting left a 12-year-old boy dead.

Sunday, the DPD responded to an auto theft from the 8300 block of E. Northfield Blvd. According to the vehicle owner, he was tracking it through an app and eventually found his stolen car stopped in the area of W. 12th Ave. and N. Decatur St.

When he approached it, police said there was an “exchange of gunfire" with at least one person inside the car. The 12-year-old boy reportedly drove the stolen vehicle to the 2900 block of W. 10th Ave. where he was found by officers suffering from a gunshot wound. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

No arrests have been made in Sunday's shooting, and it is still not known who stole the vehicle, police said. They spoke at the scene with the man who owns the car.

Other people who were in the vehicle ran away before officers arrived, police said.

Police confirmed that the boy who was shot is the same one they issued an alert for in 2021 after he ran away from home at age 10.

When police complete their investigation, they said, they will provide their findings to the Denver District Attorney's Office, which will decide on any criminal charges.

"We recommend against owners trying to recover their stolen vehicle, because car thieves are often armed, posing a significant risk to anyone attempting to contact them," the spokesperson for the DPD said in an email to 9News. "In general, we encourage people to put their personal safety first and avoid interactions with a person who may have stolen their vehicle or committed another type of crime."