An off-duty Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deputy is fighting for his life.
He was transported to an area hospital in critical condition after being shot during what appears to have been a robbery attempt in Aurora.
The deputy was able to shoot one juvenile suspect; he's in custody.
But his partner remains on the loose at this writing despite a huge search involving officers from multiple law-enforcement agencies.
According to the Aurora Police Department, word of the incident broke at 7:20 p.m. last night — Tuesday, January 26.
Here's the first APD tweet about what happened....
#ALERT: APD is investigating a shooting at 17396 E Adriatic Dr. No additional details at this time. pic.twitter.com/RfvqwIgNbj
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) January 27, 2016UPDATE: 2 males shot, 1 serious condition, other non-life threatening. Suspect(s) still at large. Ofcrs searching area. No desc avail.
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) January 27, 2016The shooting took place at The Courtyards at Buckley, an apartment complex on East Adriatic.
Upon their arrival, officers located the thus-far-unnamed Jeffco deputy suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
According to 7News, he was hit in the chest and abdomen.
Investigators believe the deputy was approached by two male suspects in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
The confrontation that followed became violent, with a suspect opening fire.
The deputy took lead but managed to squeeze his own trigger. One suspect sustained a non-life-threatening wound; his leg was reportedly perforated.
As the deputy was transported for medical care, other officers established a perimeter and staged house to house searches. Participating agencies included the APD SWAT and K-9 units, the Denver Police Department (which contributed air support), and sheriff's offices in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties.
Here's another APD tweet showing the area of focus.
Search area included: Iliff to the North, Yale to the South, Telluride to the East & W. Toll Gate Creek to the West. pic.twitter.com/EdarBlHFpd
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) January 27, 2016The search concluded at about 12:15 a.m. this morning without the second suspect being located.
The only description of the fugitive available right now: "a black male who was wearing a brown jacket at the time of the shooting."
In the meantime, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Facebook page sports the following message:
We are asking for your thoughts and prayers tonight after one of our deputies was shot while off duty in Aurora.If you have any information about the incident, you're encouraged to call Agent Matt Ingui with the Major Crimes/Homicide Unit at 303-739-6067 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
He has been taken to the hospital in critical condition. Aurora Police Department is the lead agency on the investigation and is handling all aspects at this time.
A reward of up to $2,000 is being offered.
We send our best wishes to the injured deputy.
Look below to see a 7News piece about the shooting.
