Police arrest juvenile in shooting death of teen in parking lot

Aurora police arrested a juvenile boy in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy in a parking lot on Monday evening.

The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday identified the victim as Jeremy Jamaal Rudolph.

Rudolph died of a gunshot wound to the head in the parking lot of the Sable Technological Center. Colorado Early Colleges closed the school to students on Tuesday and Wednesday, allowing them time to grieve their fellow classmate. Support services for staff and students were available, school officials said on Tuesday.

Teachers at the high school recalled Rudolph on Wednesday as a hardworking, focused student who wore a constant smile and who enjoyed interacting with other students.

“He was actually one of my favorite students,” said Bryan Gelles, a literature teacher. Gelles’ students, including Rudolph, have been studying the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“He was always asking questions, always in it, part of the group,” Gelles said. “He was very much a presence in the class. Everyone liked him.”

Math teacher Alfredo Beltran met Rudolph last August, when the teen first showed up at the school inquiring how to enroll and get started.

“His main goal was to be able to finish school fast and go to a four-year (college) so he could eventually help his family out,” Beltran said.

Rudolph liked to help other math students, Beltran said. “He wanted everyone to be successful here.”

Students were scheduled to return to class on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to the students coming back so we can be a supportive community,” Gelles said. “We can all deal with this together.”

Aurora police units and an FBI task force worked for nearly 31 hours between the shooting and arrest, which took place around 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 15000 block of East Evans Avenue. The suspect was arrested without incident, police said in a news release.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting at 11:38 a.m. Monday and found the 16-year-old victim laying on the ground with a gunshot wound. He later died of his injuries.

Aurora police declined to release further information about the incident or the circumstances that led to the shooting because the suspect and the victim are juveniles, according to the news release.

They did not say what charges the suspect is facing.