Investigation underway for officer-involved shooting in east Pueblo County
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The 10th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team has been activated to investigate a fatal officer-involved shooting early Wednesday, March 1, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.
On Tuesday, February 28 around 3:40 p.m., Deputies responded to North Mesa Elementary School in East Pueblo County on reports of shots fired from a home in the 900 block of 29th Lane
Classes were already dismissed for the day, but some students and staff stayed at the school. The school was then placed on a lockdown for about an hour, while deputies investigated the shots fired call.
According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's office -- students were on a nearby playground at the time a man fired shots at the home.
Deputies attempted to contact the suspect at his home, but the suspect refused and threatened them with a gun.
Deputies then obtained search warrants, activating the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office swat team due to the public safety risk for nearby homes and the school.
The SWAT team and negotiators attempted for several hours to communicate with the suspect to get him to surrender peacefully with repeated verbal commands. The SWAT team then deployed gas into the home, but the suspect still refused to comply.
SWAT team members then entered the home, when the suspect leveled a gun in the direction of the deputies. Shots were fired, according to the Sheriff's Office.
No deputies were injured, but the suspect was pronounced dead. The name of the suspect will be released by the Pueblo County Coroner's Office at a later time.
The name of the deputies involved are not being released at this time. Two deputies have been placed on administrative leave as per standard operating procedure.
Circumstances surrounding the shooting are still being investigated. There is no current threat to the community. Due to the ongoing investigation, there will be a heavy law enforcement presence in the area for a few hours.
The CIRT included members of the Pueblo Police Department, the Colorado State Patrol, the Pueblo County District Attorney's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and PCSO.
