Man shot after pointing gun at deputies, sheriff’s office says

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — A man is dead after he fired a bullet into the air and pointed a gun at deputies, who then shot him, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said. 

Sheriff’s office spokesperson Deborah Takahara said the shooting happened around 7:20 p.m. at an apartment complex at Peoria Street and Roosevelt Lane, just north of Lincoln Avenue in the Lone Tree area.

The sheriff’s office said around 6:20 p.m., the man had called Lone Tree police and said he had fired a shot inside an apartment. According to the sheriff’s office, the man made statements about being suicidal.

A mental health clinician responded to the scene along with a Lone Tree officer and Douglas County deputies, the sheriff’s office said. First responders talked to the man on the phone and asked him to come out of the apartment. Around 7:20 p.m., the sheriff’s office said, the man came out and fired a shot in the air, then pointed a gun at deputies. At least one deputy fired, hitting the man. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

The coroner’s office will identify the man and determine how he died.