Police lifted a shelter-in-place order in Arvada on Sunday night after failing to locate the suspect in a fatal shooting earlier in the day in Westminster.
Westminster police said officers responded to a reported shooting in the 9800 block of Westcliff Parkway around 9:50 a.m. Sunday. The caller told dispatchers two men were fighting, and one had shot the other.
The shooting victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Westminster police said in a Sunday night news release.
The shooting involved two individuals who knew each other, the Westminster Police Department said on social media Sunday.
Officers will remain on scene for the next few hours as the location is processed. The shelter in place has been lifted. Any future information regarding the homicide case will be released by @WestminsterPD. We thank the community members for their patience during this unusually… https://t.co/BbKX4cTNXG
— Arvada Police (@ArvadaPolice) November 6, 2023
The suspect in the Westminster shooting fled in a vehicle, which later was found near 64th Avenue and Estes Street in Arvada, police said.
At 11:03 a.m. Sunday, Arvada police asked city residents in that area to remain inside while officers searched for a possibly armed suspect.
Two hours later, at about 2:15 p.m., the Arvada and Westminster police departments confirmed on social media that the suspect was related to a shooting that occurred in Westminster earlier Sunday and warned residents to continue sheltering in place.
Arvada officials said they believed the suspect was in an apartment on 62nd Avenue between Estes and Dover streets. At 3:45 p.m. officers from both police departments were on the scene with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team.
Westminster police said they obtained a warrant to search the apartment, but the homicide suspect was not found there.
Around 7:45 p.m., Arvada police posted on social media that the shelter-in-place had been lifted, but that officers would still be at the scene for a few more hours.
Westminster police said detectives were continuing to search for the suspect, who has not been publicly identified.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office will release the name of the homicide victim once next of kin is notified.
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