An armed carjacking suspect out of Arapahoe County was shot by Douglas County deputies after leading law enforcement on a chase around Highlands Ranch, according to the sheriff’s office.
The carjacking was reported near Broadway and S. Panama Drive in Littleton at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and law enforcement used Flock cameras to trace the suspect to Douglas County, Sheriff Darren Weekly said in a news briefing.
One of the license-plate-reader cameras near E. County Line Road and S. Colorado Boulevard in Highlands Ranch alerted Douglas County deputies to a match for the suspect’s vehicle, Weekly said.
Deputies found the suspect in western Highlands Ranch and tried to pull the driver over, but the suspect fled and Douglas County deputies pursued, Weekly said. Littleton police officers also joined in the chase, he added.
The pursuit ended just north of C-470 on U.S. 85, also known as S. Santa Fe Drive, Weekly said.
Littleton police officers hit the suspect’s vehicle to stop the driver, and Douglas County deputies tried to box in the car from the other side, Weekly said. That’s when the suspect began ramming police vehicles and hit a deputy.
That deputy was not in a car when he was hit, and paramedics took him to the hospital with minor injuries, Weekly said.
Shortly after ramming police vehicles, the unidentified suspect began shooting at officers through the windshield of his car, Weekly said. At least one deputy returned fire, shooting the suspect.
Paramedics took the suspect to a hospital, where the suspect is expected to survive, Weekly said. A passenger in the suspect’s car was arrested on unknown charges, and the suspect driver will likely be charged with the attempted murder of a peace officer, he said.
“We’re very fortunate that this situation wasn’t much worse than it is,” Weekly said.
Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.