A New Year’s Eve domestic disturbance call sparked an “ambush-style” attack that left one deputy dead, four others injured and two civilians wounded in an apartment complex just south of Denver.
The suspect had fired off around 100 rounds with a rifle at the Copper Canyon apartment community in Highlands Ranch, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said.
“They all went down, almost within seconds of each other,” Spurlock said.
The unnamed suspect, who died during the attack, was known to law enforcement, Spurlock said. He did not reveal exactly how the suspect died.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says five deputies were shot at an apartment community in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Fox 31 Denver)
Spurlock identified the deceased officer as 29-year-old Zackari Parrish, who had been on the force there for seven months.
“I can’t tell you how difficult it is for a leader to sit down with a spouse of an officer who was killed in the line of duty,” Spurlock said. “They had many hopes and dreams. He was doing his job and he was doing his job well.”
Parrish is survived by his wife and two children and previously worked for two years at the Castle Rock Police Department.
The other wounded officers: Deputies Mike Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Tom O’Donnell, 31, were said to be in stable condition. The civilians had suffered non-life threatening injuries, Spurlock said.
Pelle is the son of Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, Fox 31 Denver reported.
Police previously said residents of the area should shelter in place and avoid windows. Multiple law enforcement agencies and a SWAT team responded to the scene.
Local media later reported gunshots being heard amid a stream of firetrucks and emergency vehicles entering the area.
Steven Silknitter, who lives in the complex, told the Denver Post that he was working elsewhere when he got word of the shooting and called home to speak to his fiance.
“She was pretty scared,” Silknitter said. “She kept saying how loud it was.”
President Donald Trump tweeted that he has offered his “deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting.”
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