KEY POINTS

  • The shooting occurred in Olde Town Arvada
  • It comes three months after a gunman killed 10 people, including a cop, in Boulder
  • Mayor Marc Williams calls it "by far the saddest day for our police department"

Three people, including a police officer and a suspect, were killed Monday in a Denver suburb's shopping district, making it the latest high-profile shooting in Colorado this year. This comes three months after a gunman opened fire and killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a supermarket in Boulder.

Addressing a news conference, Ed Brady, the deputy chief of the Arvada Police Department, said that police responded to a call about “a suspicious incident” near the Arvada library at 1.15 p.m.

Fifteen minutes later, a 911 call informed that a police officer was hit as shots were fired in the area, he said.

The slain officer was identified as Gordon Beesley, a 19-year veteran police officer, police were cited as saying by The Denver Post. The gunman, who fatally shot the police officer, was killed by police and another person, who was believed to have been shot by the attacker, was taken to a hospital where he died, AP reported.

The shooting occurred in the busy shopping district of Olde Town Arvada, a town that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, just seven miles northwest of downtown Denver, the report said.

No other details describing the circumstances of the shooting were immediately available.

Reacting to the incident, Mayor Marc Williams called it “by far the saddest day for our police department,” USA Today reported. He said that the police officer’s death, just the third in police department history, was “especially painful” after the Boulder mass shooting.

In a tweet, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis extended his condolences to the fallen police officer’s family and friends following a similar tweet from the Colorado State Patrol, citing their appreciation to their deceased colleague.

Arvada closed its city hall and canceled a city council meeting in order to allow officers to conduct a thorough investigation in the area. Police officers from nearby communities and residents lined the streets as a show of support and respect as the hearse drove the Arvada police officer's body to the coroner’s office, a video cited by Denver7 showed.

Last month, six people were killed in a mass shooting at a birthday party in Colorado Springs, just 80 miles south of the city.

According to an earlier USA Today report, Colorado places sixth among the highest rate of mass shootings compared to the other states.

The US has suffered a spate of mass shootings in recent weeks, including at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta
The US has suffered a spate of mass shootings in recent weeks, including at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta AFP / Alex Edelman
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