Man accused in Aurora shooting spree previously arrested on 23 counts of attempted murder

The 35-year-old man accused of attempted murder in a June shooting spree in Aurora allegedly apologized to his first victim before driving off and shooting two more people, according to an arrest affidavit.

After shooting a 49-year-old woman in her car outside her house, Austin Benson allegedly told her and other family members who had rushed outside, “I am sorry. You aren’t the only ones, I shot multiple people before this,” before driving off, the arrest affidavit stated.

Benson was arrested in June and charged with attempted murder, assault, menacing and multiple gun-related crimes, according to court records. In total, the 35-year-old faces 27 charges, including:

• Four counts of attempted first-degree murder;
• Three counts of first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury;
• Three counts of first-degree assault with extreme indifference;
• Two counts of attempted first-degree assault;
• Four counts of felony menacing;
• Four counts of illegally discharging a firearm;
• One count of using a large-capacity gun magazine while committing a crime;
• One count of using a prohibited weapon while drunk;
• One count of leaving the scene of an accident;
• And four violent crime sentence enhancers.

Benson has been arrested five times before in Colorado, including a 2018 arrest for 23 counts of attempted first-degree murder in Douglas County, police said. The charges were dropped in October 2023.

Around 9:20 p.m. on June 27, police responded to reports of a crash and shots fired in the 4400 block of South Eagle Circle in Aurora.

The caller told dispatchers they heard about 10 shots being fired outside their home and saw a man hit another car before getting out of his vehicle with an AK-47-style rifle, police said in the arrest affidavit. When officers arrived, they found a 49-year-old woman with multiple gunshot wounds, still sitting inside her car.

In the affidavit, the woman’s 18-year-old daughter — who was also in the car during the shooting — told police that the pair were driving home from dinner when they saw a strange car parked in their driveway, blocking their front door and garage. The mom, who was driving, was stopped in front of the driveway when a bullet shattered her window, spraying glass across the car.

Several more shots were fired, but the daughter couldn’t tell where they were coming from and couldn’t see the shooter, the affidavit stated. When the gunfire stopped, the shooter walked up to the car’s shattered window and stood there, staring blankly inside the car, the daughter told police.

As other family members rushed out of the house to try and assist the mom, the shooter apologized, got back into his car and drove off southbound toward Smoky Hill Road, police said in the affidavit.

Other witnesses to the first shooting told investigators that the man seemed “off” and that he could have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, police said. One man said he got close enough to Benson after the gunshots stopped to potentially take the rifle away and the man “didn’t seem phased” and didn’t react to the witness approaching.

Around 9:30 p.m., Benson allegedly shot two more people — a 35-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman driving together in the 4600 block of East Crystal Way — less than a half-mile from the first shooting, police said.

While on their way to the man’s work, the pair noticed another car with only one headlight driving toward them in their lane, against traffic, the affidavit stated. The man, who was driving, swerved a few times to avoid a collision and the oncoming driver mimicked his movements, police said.

The man narrowly avoided a collision but noticed the other driver — believed to be Benson — had driven up onto the curb and went back to check on him, police said. As they got close, Benson allegedly got out of his car and started firing.