Colorado Springs police kill man during parking lot standoff

Colorado Springs police shot and killed a man overnight who they say brandished a handgun when confronted by officers in a parking lot.

Police wrote on social media that a man called the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers at 9:40 p.m. Friday and told them he was suicidal and armed with a gun.

Deputies alerted other local law enforcement agencies after they arrived at the man’s home and were unable to locate him.

Colorado Springs police officers began receiving calls about gunshots near the 3800 block of Astrozon Boulevard at 11 p.m. They found a man in a vehicle waving a handgun and tried for more than an hour to persuade him to drop the gun as he fired it multiple times.

“At least one officer attempted to minimize injury to the male by deploying a less lethal tool, which proved unsuccessful,” police wrote. “After raising the handgun toward officers, several officers fired at least one round at the suspect, striking him.”

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said no one else was injured during the incident.

The officers involved have been placed on leave, and the shooting is being investigated by the sheriff’s office.