Suspect fatally shot by Colorado Springs police identified

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says 33-year-old Christopher Louis Willard, who was fatally shot by Colorado Springs police Saturday evening , pointed a BB gun at officers before they opened fire.

According to a news release from EPCSO, officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department tried to take Willard into custody on an outstanding warrant for misdemeanor theft around 6 p.m. near South Nevada Avenue and East Navajo Street.

The sheriff’s office says Willard began fighting with the officers and resisted arrest. He then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at officers. That’s when he was shot. The handgun was taken into evidence and was later identified as a CO2-powered BB gun.

Willard later died at a local hospital.

CSPD identified the officers involved in the shooting as Christopher Fernandes and Tracy Toth of the Gold Hill Division. Fernandes has been with the department since April 2014, Toth has been with the department since May 2015.

EPCSO is investigating the incident and has obtained footage from body cameras.