Copper Canyon Apartment Homes shooting

On December 31, 2017, a shooting occurred in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where five deputy sheriffs were shot. One deputy was shot dead, and four others were injured. Two civilians were also shot by the suspect, who was later killed in a firefight with a SWAT tactical team. The suspect reportedly used a rifle and a shotgun. Law enforcement had responded first to a noise complaint to the apartment, then to a domestic-disturbance call to the apartment. The suspect reportedly barricaded himself in his bedroom and shot the deputies in an "ambush" style when they entered. The suspect was later shot dead by a police tactical team that subsequently re-entered the apartment.[2] It was later determined that the suspect, former attorney[3] Matthew Riehl, was a veteran with a history of psychotic episodes and he had recently stopped taking his medication.[4][5][6]

Copper Canyon Apartment Homes shooting
Location
DateDecember 31, 2017 (2017-12-31)
5:20 - 7:30 AM (UTC-7)
TargetSheriff's deputies
WeaponAR-15 rifle
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator and a police officer)
Injured6
PerpetratorMatthew Edward Riehl[1]

Events

On December 31, 2017, deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic disturbance in the apartments around 5:20 AM. They had already been called to the apartment earlier, around 3:00 AM, on a noise complaint, but left after they were unable to determine if an offense had taken place.[7] On the second call, officers determined that the alleged shooter, Matthew Riehl, was an individual with mental illness who was presenting a danger to himself and others. They decided to take Riehl into custody on an M-1 (mental health hold).[4][8]

Upon entering the apartment, the officers attempted to gain access to Riehl's bedroom, at which time Riehl began firing rapid rounds through the bedroom door at the officers. Four officers were hit immediately.[9] Three officers (Deputy Jeff Pelle was shot once in the chest. Deputy Taylor Davis was shot five times in her left forearm, front left thigh and left shoulder. Deputy Mike Doyle was shot twice in the left forearm) were able to retreat, but Deputy Zackari Parrish remained in the apartment, injured. During the ensuing standoff, Riehl continued to fire rounds from his bedroom, causing injuries to two civilians and one SWAT officer (Farook Patail was shot once in the left shoulder. Nathan Lapp was shot once in the left elbow. SWAT officer Thomas O’Donnell was shot once in the right front thigh) in neighboring apartments.[7] A SWAT team was finally able to enter the apartment around 7:30 AM, and a gunfight ensued, at which time Riehl was shot in the back and killed by SWAT Officer Ronnie Dorrell.[9]

Officers say Riehl fired almost 400 shots, many of which ended up in neighbors' apartments and adjacent buildings.[4][5]

Victims

Three of the injured, including the injured civilians, were taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado, with injuries that were not critical. Another four were taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton.[9] Deputies confirmed that one officer, 29-year-old Deputy Zackari Parrish, was shot multiple times and died at the scene from his injuries.[10]

Reactions

President Donald Trump extended his condolences to the victims of the shooting via Twitter: "My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @DCSheriff, and their families. We love our police and law enforcement - God Bless them all! #LESM".[11]

All 11 of the officers involved in the incident were cleared of Riehl's death, and it was officially determined that they acted "completely lawfully in using deadly force against Matthew Riehl."[12]

Media depiction

The incident was chronicled on the tenth episode of the first season of the Investigation Discovery TV show Body Cam, which plays footage from multiple body cameras, including those of Sheriff's deputies and SWAT team officers.[5]

gollark: I'm saying that the service's primary purpose is probably gathering data for Google and the captcha feature is just to spread it around to other sites.
gollark: They probably stop simpler bots without captcha-breaking stuff, so that makes people use them.
gollark: Which I think is the main purpose.
gollark: The recaptchas, I mean.
gollark: <@173269209579520001> They still send piles of data to Google.

References
  1. "Colorado shooting: Suspect identified as Matthew Riehl". CBS News. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. "'We have multiple deputies down': One police officer dead and four injured in US shooting". TheJournal.ie. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  3. Mitchell, Kristine (January 3, 2018). "From law school to his bloody end, the Colorado shooter's life was full of warning signs". Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  4. Sandell, Clayton; Louszko, Ashley; McNiff, Eamon; Coburn, Laura; Mittal, Pavni (May 15, 2018). "Colorado officers describe what happened in horrific 'ambush-style attack' that killed one of their own". ABC News. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  5. "Under Siege". Body Cam. Season 1. Episode 10. February 12, 2019. Investigation Discovery. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  6. Gibbs, Jessica (February 27, 2018). "Man who killed deputy had marijuana, alcohol in his system, report shows". Castle Rock News-Press. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  7. Elliott, Dan (January 3, 2018). "Man who killed Colorado deputy fled mental ward in 2014, document shows". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  8. "Sheriff's office releases edited body camera footage from deadly deputy ambush". KDVR. January 9, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  9. Mele, Christopher; Healy, Jack (December 31, 2017). "Colorado Gunman Shoots 5 Officers Near Denver, One Fatally". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  10. "Douglas Co. Deputy Zackari Parrish tried to help his killer until he died, sheriff says at funeral". The Denver Channel. January 5, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  11. Cohen, Kelly (December 31, 2017). "Trump sends 'deepest condolences' to deputies shot in Colorado mass shooting". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  12. Mitchell, Kirk (July 17, 2018). "Prosecutor clears 11 officers in death of man who killed Dougco deputy in New Year's Eve shooting". The Denver Post. Retrieved July 3, 2019.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.