Denver police chief: Suspect shot and killed by officers after attacking victim with knife

DENVER (KKTV) - A standoff with an armed man holding two people inside a home ended late Monday night with the suspect dead.

According to Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, the incident started as a family disturbance in a home near the corner of Oneida Street and Montview Boulevard. Officers were called to the house at 8:30 p.m. and were warned one of the people involved had a weapon.

“The homeowner at a home in the 2000 block of Oneida called to report this family disturbance,” Thomas said. “Officers arrived on scene very quickly and identified that there was a party inside the home armed with a knife, and he was preventing two other individuals inside the home from leaving. The officers quickly secured the perimeter of the home, began negotiating with this individual, called for additional resources to help resolve this situation. Crisis negotiators were called to respond, as well as additional personnel.”

The suspect remained in one room during the standoff, forcing both victims to remain in there with them and threatening them with his knife, Thomas told reporters.

While crisis negotiators were still en route, the suspect began assaulting one of the people in the house with the knife. Thomas said officers immediately fired their weapons, killing the suspect.

“What I understand is officers had to immediately respond to a situation where this individual’s life is in danger,” Thomas said on why officers fired shots when they did. He told reporters he did not believe the suspect ever threatened the law enforcement on scene.

“The ambulance that had been on standby was quickly brought up the front of the home. The victim that had been stabbed, or injured with the knife, was loaded into the ambulance and transported to Denver Health Medical. They’re currently listed in serious but stable condition,” Thomas said of the victim’s condition.

The entire incident from the time officers pulled up to the time shots fired was about 90 minutes, according to the chief.

The suspect has not been identified at the time of this writing. Thomas said the victim who was assaulted was a man, while the other person held in the home was a woman who was uninjured. All were family members, but Thomas declined to say what their exact relationship was.

Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation are investigating the incident as outside agencies, per state law following police shootings.