Two Aurora police officers were shot and hospitalized on Monday with non-life-threatening injuries after they exchanged gunfire with a suspected burglar in Denver's Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, according to authorities.
Denver police said in a tweet shortly before 6 p.m. they were investigating an officer-involved shooting at the 4700 block of Argonne St. in far northeast Denver. The area borders Aurora.
Denver Division Chief of Patrol Ron Thomas said during a press briefing on Monday evening that police had been following suspected robbers at around 5:30 p.m. Police followed them to 47th Avenue and Andes Street, where Thomas said one of the persons they had followed ran into a parking lot and tried to carjack a vehicle with two people.
At that point, Thomas said Aurora police officers "engaged" the suspected robbers and exchanged gunfire. The exchange left two Aurora police officers shot, while the suspected robber was also shot. Thomas said the person was in critical condition and treated at Denver Health.
Thomas did not identify the suspected burglar. He said the person, an adult, was shot multiple times. He said he did not know what kind of firearm the suspect used or the number of rounds fired during the exchange. The officers are part of the Rocky Mountain Safe Free Task Force, a multi-agency team made up of metro-area police departments and federal agencies.
It was not clear whether Denver police officers fired at the suspect.
Aurora police Officer Matthew Longshore said Monday evening at the press briefing the two officers shot were SWAT team members. Longshore said the officer's injuries were non life-threatening and the two were recovering at a hospital. He declined to say how many times the officers were shot.
