AURORA, CO – A 29-year-old Space Force sergeant will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being sentenced to over five decades in prison in connection to a 2023 incident where he fatally shot one teenager and injured another after he caught them trying to break into his vehicle.
In a press release from the Colorado 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, former Space Force Sergeant Orest Schur was sentenced to 54 years in state prison following his convictions of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder regarding the July 2023 shooting that left a 14-year-old dead and a 13-year-old injured.
According to news reports at the time of Schur’s arrest two years earlier, he was awakened at approximately 11:20 p.m. on July 5th, 2023, to the sound of a car alarm going off outside of his home located off the 19400 block of East 59th Place in Aurora.
When Schur went to investigate the source of the car alarm, he reportedly observed two males dressed in all black trying to break into his vehicle.
After Schur confronted the two would-be car thieves, the duo reportedly sped off “in another suspected stolen vehicle,” and Schur began to pursue the two in his own vehicle while armed.
It was later found that Schur had opened fire at the fleeing vehicle, causing the car to crash along the 19500 block of East 58th Circle. Prosecutors say that’s when Schur continued firing at the vehicle’s occupants, who attempted to flee on foot from the scene of the crash.
In the fallout of the incident, authorities say a 14-year-old passenger, identified as Xavier Daniel Kirk, was found by first responders with a gunshot wound to the back and head.
Despite attempts to render medical aid, Kirk succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital.
The driver of the suspected stolen vehicle, identified as a 13-year-old boy, sustained a gunshot wound to the back but was able to make his way to a relative’s home after the shooting and received medical treatment.
Taking the case to trial, Schur’s defense strategy was claiming he fired upon the suspected carjackers in self-defense, but evidence collected during the investigation revealed the teens didn’t fire any weapons at Shur before or during the deadly pursuit.
The jury handed down two guilty verdicts on June 16th, 2025, and Schur learned his fate in court during his sentencing on August 15th, with Judge Caryn Datz condemning the veteran to 54 years in prison between the two charges.
District Attorney Brian Mason issued a statement following Schur’s sentencing, calling the actions leading to the outcome in court an act of “vigilante violence.”
“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead. The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants,” DA Mason stated, adding, “A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions. I’m grateful to the Aurora Police Department for their investigation and to my team at the DA’s Office for securing justice in this case.”
In a press release from the Colorado 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, former Space Force Sergeant Orest Schur was sentenced to 54 years in state prison following his convictions of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder regarding the July 2023 shooting that left a 14-year-old dead and a 13-year-old injured.
According to news reports at the time of Schur’s arrest two years earlier, he was awakened at approximately 11:20 p.m. on July 5th, 2023, to the sound of a car alarm going off outside of his home located off the 19400 block of East 59th Place in Aurora.
When Schur went to investigate the source of the car alarm, he reportedly observed two males dressed in all black trying to break into his vehicle.
After Schur confronted the two would-be car thieves, the duo reportedly sped off “in another suspected stolen vehicle,” and Schur began to pursue the two in his own vehicle while armed.
It was later found that Schur had opened fire at the fleeing vehicle, causing the car to crash along the 19500 block of East 58th Circle. Prosecutors say that’s when Schur continued firing at the vehicle’s occupants, who attempted to flee on foot from the scene of the crash.
In the fallout of the incident, authorities say a 14-year-old passenger, identified as Xavier Daniel Kirk, was found by first responders with a gunshot wound to the back and head.
Despite attempts to render medical aid, Kirk succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital.
The driver of the suspected stolen vehicle, identified as a 13-year-old boy, sustained a gunshot wound to the back but was able to make his way to a relative’s home after the shooting and received medical treatment.
Taking the case to trial, Schur’s defense strategy was claiming he fired upon the suspected carjackers in self-defense, but evidence collected during the investigation revealed the teens didn’t fire any weapons at Shur before or during the deadly pursuit.
The jury handed down two guilty verdicts on June 16th, 2025, and Schur learned his fate in court during his sentencing on August 15th, with Judge Caryn Datz condemning the veteran to 54 years in prison between the two charges.
District Attorney Brian Mason issued a statement following Schur’s sentencing, calling the actions leading to the outcome in court an act of “vigilante violence.”
“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead. The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants,” DA Mason stated, adding, “A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions. I’m grateful to the Aurora Police Department for their investigation and to my team at the DA’s Office for securing justice in this case.”
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments