An Aurora police officer on Monday shot and injured a teenager who was armed with a knife and “prowling” around an apartment complex, according to the police department.
At about 3:18 a.m. Monday, officers were patrolling near an apartment building at 1035 South Elkhart Way and saw a 16-year-old boy “prowling” in the area, Division Chief Mark Hildebrand said in a news briefing.
The apartment complex is near the intersection of East Mississippi Avenue and South Chambers Road in Aurora’s City Center neighborhood.
The teen, who has not been publicly identified, “took off running” as soon as officers arrived, Hildebrand said. A few minutes later, they found him in a nearby parking lot, hiding behind trees and cars.
Hildebrand said officers started to give the teen orders but didn’t say what they ordered him to do. He said the 16-year-old didn’t comply with those orders and started to walk toward officers “at a very fast pace.”
The officers retreated to create space, but the teenager continued to approach, Hildebrand said.
That’s when one officer shot him in the leg. Hildebrand said the officer fired two to three shots.
No officers were injured in the shooting, he said.
The teenager dropped a knife after he was shot, but Hildebrand said it’s unclear if the officer knew he was armed at the time of the shooting.
Paramedics took the teenager to the hospital and Hildebrand said he is expected to be released later Monday morning.
The officer, who Hildebrand said is a 20-year veteran, is on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation into the shooting, per department policy.
Hildebrand said investigators believe the 16-year-old was trying to break into cars in the area, which he said has seen an increase in car thefts and vehicle break-ins.
The 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the shooting and the officer’s use of force.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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