Colorado: Suspect surrenders after shooting a dog police officer near his school

Officials said that an armed man in central Colorado surrendered Monday morning after a nearly five-hour pursuit that included the regional SWAT team. Police said that the suspect, which law enforcement agencies are yet to identify, was captured after he shot and killed K-9 police dogs while fleeing from the scene shortly after midnight.

Officers from the Colorado School of Mines and the Golden Police Department approached the suspect in a car parked near campus at 12:15 a.m. police stated. 

According to police, the man was lying on the steering wheel and unresponsive to officers trying to alert him. The man then woke up and started driving the car at a slow speed, while weaving into traffic in front of him. Authorities said that officers observed the driver’s slumping over the steering wheel and tried to wake him. The suspect then woke up and began hitting the patrol cars of responding officers with his car in an apparent attempt escape.

Officers managed to open the man’s driver side window and park his car. However, when officers tried to remove him from the vehicle the man “was able” to escape their grasp and flee. According to authorities, the man pointed his handgun at a Golden Police Officer who chased him towards a wooded area. There he continued his escape for several hours.

According to police, shelter in place was ordered at the Colorado School of Mines (located about 15 minutes west of Denver) and other parts of the surrounding area while the suspect remained at large. A police dog assigned by the county sheriff’s department was able to track the suspect during the pursuit. Police said that the suspect shot and killed the animal, while a deputy sheriff returned fire. The suspect may have been injured, but it was not clear.

Golden police reported that “the suspect emerged from hiding and surrendered” to the perimeter units just before 5:00 a.m. “He had a holster with no gun in it.” The gun was found in the immediate vicinity.

The School of Mines’ Police Department is investigating the incident. The campus shelter in place was removed at 6:01 a.m. on Monday, but officers captured the man. It remained closed to new visitors. CBS Colorado reported. The university stated that it would reopen at noon when classes and student activities can resume.