One Arrested After Fatal Shooting In Colorado Springs

It didn’t take Colorado Springs police long to apprehend a suspect in a violent shooting death Thursday just a few blocks north of Citadel Mall.

On Friday morning, investigators arrested Erik Camacho, of Colorado Springs on suspicion of first-degree murder. Camacho, who turns 24 next month, made a brief court appearance with his attorney at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center on Friday. He’s being held without bond.

Police said they found a man dead from an apparent gunshot wound after what witnesses described as a car chase and more than a dozen shots being fired. The victim’s vehicle, police said, crashed into a tree outside a car wash near Academy Boulevard and Uintah Street.

Police said the victim and the suspect knew each, other but specifics haven’t been released. The victim’s identity will be released after an autopsy. Results were not available as of Friday night.

However, witnesses said the trouble may have started outside a tattoo parlor near the crime scene. A witness at The Right Touch barber shop below the parlor said he heard that someone told a man in the parlor to leave because someone was circling the parking lot in a threatening manner.

“It took me and everybody else in here maybe three shots to figure out what was going on,” said barber Scott Cooper. “We just immediately hit the floor.”

Angela O’Brien said she was driving home from work when she saw the shooting in progress.

“I saw a guy with a black gun,” she said. “I didn’t see who he was shooting at. But he was just popping them off like it was nothing. You could actually feel the car reverberate from the bullets.”

A viewer told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that her daughter was waiting to pick up her son from a nearby day care when the shooting happened. She said her daughter heard more than 15 shots and saw a white vehicle crash into the front of the car wash. Four other viewers also reported hearing many shots in that area at about 5:30 p.m.

A woman who identified herself as Camacho’s girlfriend said she believes he’s innocent. She said he works at the parlor and is unaware of any trouble concerning him. The parlor was closed Friday, surprising several apparent customers.

Police said Camacho’s mother works for the Colorado Springs Police Department as an ID clerk in the Investigations Division. Police said she has no access to any records related to the case and is being very cooperative.

Police consider this death the fourth homicide of 2012.

Erik Camacho: