LONE TREE — Deputies shot and killed two people inside a stolen vehicle in suburban Denver after the suspects opened fire, authorities said Wednesday.
During a news conference Wednesday morning, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock estimated about 35 rounds were fired between the suspects and deputies.
The shooting happened after deputies patrolling the Lincoln light-rail station parking lot approached a vehicle that had no license plate and the locks punched out, the Sheriff’s Office said.
When deputies approached the vehicle, the suspects shot at them and six deputies returned fire, killing the two people inside, the sheriff’s office said. One deputy was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, it said.
There were three volleys of shooting, spanning about seven to nine minutes, and each time the men in the stolen car started shooting first, Spurlock said.
One deputy was hit in the face with glass shattered from the car’s driver side window and a bullet pierced his shirt, but did not hit his body, he said. The deputy was brought to the hospital and released Wednesday morning.
The deputies and suspects have not been publicly identified, though Spurlock said both suspects had warrants out for their arrest related to car theft and theft. One man was also wanted by the Denver Police Department for questioning related to a shooting in the last three months, he said.
The two suspects were in a car stolen out of Pueblo, the sheriff said.
“Our officers were very, very lucky last night that something didn’t happen more dangerous to them,” Spurlock said.
The Aurora Police Department is leading the investigation into the shooting.