A police officer was killed and four other people, including three officers, were injured when a man opened fire aboard a commuter bus near Denver on Thursday night, the authorities said. The gunman was shot and killed by the police.
Police officers responded around 6:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time to a call about a man who was possibly involved in a hit-and-run incident earlier in the day, John Romero, a spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department, said in a news briefing on Thursday night.
The officers found the man boarding a Regional Transportation District Bus at an intersection in Lakewood, a city just outside Denver, Mr. Romero said. He added that the man opened fire immediately after the officers followed him onto the bus, hitting four officers and a civilian.
The officers returned fire and hit the gunman, killing him, Mr. Romero said. The Lakewood Police Department has not identified the shooter, saying only that he was an adult male and was pronounced dead at the scene.
One officer died of his injuries, Mr. Romero said. The officers and the injured civilian were taken to the hospital for treatment, the authorities said. There was no update on their conditions late Thursday.
“Law enforcement put their lives on the line for our safety everyday and I am heartbroken to learn that a Lakewood Police Agent was killed in the line of duty this evening,” Governor Jared Polis of Colorado said in a statement on social media.
Mr. Romero said that the Jefferson County critical incident response team was investigating the shooting. The Regional Transportation District, Denver’s public transit agency, said that bus service was not affected and that it was cooperating with the police investigation.
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