Campus police officer in Denver recovering after being shot by a car burglary suspect

DENVER, CO - A campus police officer was shot and injured early Monday morning while attempting to arrest a trespassing suspect, a press release issued by the Auraria Campus said. 

CBS News reports that two officers approached a suspect accused of trespassing into a vehicle (otherwise known as burglarizing), who then proceeded to assault the officers. The officers engaged in a foot pursuit, during which another physical altercation occurred. One of the officers attempted to deploy his taser on the suspect, who then fired several shots at the officers, striking one in the arm, the statement said. 

A short time after the shooting, Auraria Campus Police and Denver PD officers found the suspect and arrested him. 9-News reported Tuesday the suspect was identified as Aaron Verner, 29, who faces two counts of attempted murder in the shooting. 

A probable cause statement laid out the details of Verner’s arrest. In the early morning hours of Monday, officers saw him in the 7th Street parking garage and told him to leave campus. Shortly afterward, dispatch advised officers that the same man was attempting to take a golf cart. 

After initially evading officers, he was found about 10 minutes later. Verner became “non-compliant” and fired four rounds at the officers after Tasers were ineffective in subduing him. 

Four bullet casings were recovered by Denver PD officers at the scene, as well as the handgun, which was hidden under some rocks. A loaded magazine was also found near the scene, the probable cause statement said. 

The Auraria Campus is located near Colfax Ave. and I-25 and houses facilities for the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Denver. 

The area of the campus’s 9th Street entrance, as well as the RTD light rail station in the area, were to be closed as authorities continued their investigation.