Carjacking suspect killed in Pueblo officer-involved shooting

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - An officer-involved shooting leaves one person dead in Pueblo.

It all began around 10 p.m. Sunday, at a 7-Eleven convenience store near the corner of N. Elizabeth St. and US Hwy. 50. Pueblo Police told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that a suspect hit a person with a handgun and then stole their 2004 Dodge pickup truck.

"(The victim) had come in to buy a pack of cigarettes," said a clerk on duty at the time. "Then he came back in with his head covered in blood."

Officers found the truck nearby, and a suspect fled the scene in a black Cadillac SUV. That vehicle then crashed into a median on Hwy. 50. Investigators said the suspect next tried to carjack a passing vehicle using a rifle, but was unsuccessful.

Police report the suspect confronted a second vehicle, which was driven by an off-duty Pueblo County deputy. That deputy reportedly fired at the suspect, as did a Pueblo police officer. The suspect was killed. No officers were hurt.

Police have recovered the stolen vehicle from the initial carjacking at the 7-Eleven. It's unclear if the suspect from the convenience store is the same person who was shot and killed on Hwy. 50.

The 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office Critical Incident Team has taken over the investigation. Hwy. 50 from Elizabeth St. to Club Manor Dr. -- a distance of several blocks -- reopened at 10 a.m. Monday.

That stretch of the highway is lined with restaurants on the north side and other businesses on the south side.

"We normally open at 9 but today we didn't open until 10 because of the closure," a local employee said. "It makes me think about what I'd do in that situation."

Two other drivers were thinking along the same lines.

"If someone's pointing a gun or knife at me, I'd give them my vehicle," one driver said. "It's not worth my life to lose my truck."

"You only have so many options before you have to act," another driver said. "So at that moment, just go with what your gut's saying."

Yet another driver said she would have fought back.

"I would have pulled out my own gun or driven over him," she said.

Pueblo Police would like to speak to the drivers of a first attempted carjacking on HWY 50. They can call investigators at (719) 320-6006.

"We want to know for sure if there was one suspect or more than one," said Sgt. Frank Ortega of the Pueblo Police Department. "Sometimes in a stressful situation like that, witnesses may not be able to recall exactly what they saw. We want to make sure."

This is a developing story. Stay with KRDO NewsChannel 13 for the latest information.