14-year-old arrested, charged in Aurora shooting that killed 15-year-old girl near fire station
A 14-year-old boy from Colorado Springs has been arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder after police say he shot and killed a 15-year-old girl near an Aurora fire station on Sunday. He was arrested on Wednesday in El Paso County and Aurora police announced the arrest Thursday morning.
The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. on June 1 outside Aurora Fire Station 2, 12600 East Hoffman Blvd. Police say the 15-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman were shot and found by Aurora firefighters in the parking lot of the fire station. They were both treated at the scene and then taken to the hospital but the girl died of her injuries.
The woman was expected to survive.
CBS News Colorado is not identifying the girl who was shot due to her age. Police later learned of a third victim, another minor, who sustained a bullet graze wound.
According to the APD, a pop-up party started on social media, then moved to the area near the station. Authorities said a group of juvenile females were drinking, partying, and livestreaming. As more groups joined the party, police said there was a fight between two groups. That's when authorities said the suspect armed himself and fired into a group of female party guests.
In addition to the homicide charge, the boy who was arrested is facing 10 counts of attempted homicide and two counts of possession of a handgun by a juvenile after Aurora and Colorado Springs police arrested him at his El Paso County on a warrant for motor vehicle theft and found 9mm and .380-caliber handguns in the home.
The boy is being held in the El Paso County Jail but will be transferred to the Arapahoe County Jail to face charges in Arapahoe Juvenile Court. Formal charges will be filed by the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Police did not immediately identify him, citing his age, but said more information would be forthcoming on Thursday.
"The swift arrest of the suspect in this case serves as an excellent example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement and our community work together," said Mark Hildebrand, chief of the Aurora Police Department's Investigations Division. "We would not have made an arrest this quickly without the public's help and our strong working relationship with the Colorado Springs Police Department."
During a press conference Thursday, police warned the community that there's an ongoing problem with juvenile violence, and that these pop-up parties are a continuing concern. They often result in violence, they cautioned, stating, "If it ends in just a fight, we're lucky."
"To our community, I hope this is shocking. I think there's a narrative out there that our juvenile population is just hanging out, having fun, just being kids," the department said. "But in reality, we have a juvenile population that is going out well after hours, they're posting on social media platforms, encouraging multiple people to come to these locations. We even have information that they're participating in girl fight clubs. So, the behavior that we're observing in this is completely unacceptable."
They called on the community to take action and hold those involved in this kind of behavior accountable. Police also asked parents to discourage their children from attending these pop-up parties.