Thornton police officer shoots, kills suspect outside Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center in Colorado

Police in Thornton investigated a shooting near the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center on Tuesday morning. One Thornton police officer was involved in the shooting with a suspect, identified as an adult male, who was rushed to the hospital and died.

Thornton police investigated a shooting near the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center.

CBS

The rec center is located in the 11100 block of Colorado Boulevard.

According to police, it all began when a Thornton police officer noticed a vehicle driving erratically near the intersection of E. 112th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard just before 8 a.m. When the officer tried to contact the driver, the adult male pulled over but then ran away from the traffic stop.

Thornton police investigated a shooting at the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center.

CBS

That’s when another Thornton police officer who came to assist saw the male driver in a nearby parking lot. That’s when police said the suspect fired a gun at the officer who then fired back, striking him. The suspect was rushed to the hospital where he died.

The scene outside the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center on Tuesday morning.

CBS

The officer was not injured. The suspect has not been identified. The CBS News Colorado helicopter flew over the scene where several police vehicles were on scene with officers who were gathering evidence. There were several orange cones set up in parking spaces in the lot and two vehicles, a white car and a blue sedan with windows that seemed to be shot out or broken.

Thornton police investigated a shooting at the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center.

CBS

There was also a police motorcycle on its side in the parking lot near the orange cones and the vehicle with the broken windows. Crime scene tape cordoned off the entrance and a portion of the parking lot.
Large police presence in the area of Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center (11100 block of Colorado Blvd.) investigating a shooting. Updates here… pic.twitter.com/p1ysFABJqt— Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) May 14, 2024

The investigation will be turned over to the 17h Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team, and the officer involved in this incident will be placed on administrative leave, per standard protocol.