Officer fatally shot a resident who killed an intruder

A resident who had just shot and killed an intruder was shot and killed himself by Aurora police early Monday morning.

Police were responding to a report of a disturbance when they shot the armed man at his residence, Aurora police said in a Monday afternoon news release.

The incident is being investigated by the Aurora Police Major Crimes Unit along with the Denver Police Department. State law requires law enforcement agencies to team up with neighboring agencies to investigate officer-involved shootings, according to the news release.

The officer-involved shooting happened at about 1:30 a.m. at 10609 E. Montview Boulevard, police said.

At that time, Aurora dispatchers had received multiple 911 calls about a disturbance in the area. Dispatchers also received a 911 call from a woman at the address who said a man was breaking into her home, police said.

Police described the scene as chaotic. Upon arriving, officers heard gunshots fired from inside the home, and encountered an armed man, police said. An officer fired his gun, hitting the man who turned out to be a resident. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

After the resident was shot, officers went inside the home and found an injured juvenile and a dead man police described as an “intruder,” who was down on a bathroom floor.

The injured juvenile was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, caused by the intruder.

“Our preliminary investigation has revealed the deceased intruder on the bathroom floor was fatally shot by the armed adult male resident,” police said.

Neighbors along the busy stretch of Montview Boulevard did not realize the longtime resident had been killed by a police officer until news reports were released late Monday afternoon.

“It’s sad and screwed up,” said Brad Maestas, who has known the family for 34 years.

Maestas heard gunshots that woke him and he first thought someone was trying to break into his house. Maestas said he grabbed a gun but put it away when he saw all of the police cars swarming around his neighbor’s home.

Maestas saw paramedics take his neighbor away on a gurney. He was trying to cope with the trauma and care for his mother, who lives with him.

“He was a family man — a grandpa that was protecting his family,” Maestas said. “It’s messed up.”

Susan Askoul met the family when she moved back to her childhood home to care for her aging mother. She said she got to know the family at the funeral of another longtime neighborhood resident.

The man who was killed by police was retired and spent hours tending to flowers in his yard, neighbors said. He also sometimes took care of his neighbor’s yard, and he would call if he noticed something or someone out of place at her home. “We all kind of look out for each other,” she said.

Neighbors were waiting for more information from police on the intruder: Who was he? Why would he have burst into their retired neighbor’s home in the middle of the night.

“He could have picked my house,” Askoul said.

The names of the resident and intruder were not released Monday. The officer who fired has been placed on administrative reassignment with pay, per department policy.

“This is a very heartbreaking and tragic situation for everyone involved,” Chief Nick Metz said in a written statement.

The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is also involved in the ongoing investigation.