One officer dead, 6 people injured after gunman opens fire in 'ambush' style attack in Colorado

Thomson Reuters

• Police responded to reports of a disturbance in Littleton, Colorado on Sunday.
• One officer died after a suspect fired multiple shots. Four officers and two civilians were also injured.
• The suspect was shot and killed, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

One officer was killed and four others were injured Sunday when police responded to a disturbance in Littleton, Colorado and a gunman opened fire.

Two civilians also sustained non-life threatening injuries. The suspect was shot and killed during the encounter.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said during a press conference Sunday afternoon that the officers who were injured are now in stable condition.

The deputy who was killed was 29-year-old Zachary Parish, and he had worked at the department for several months after working for another department for two years. He is survived by his wife and their two young children.

"He was doing his job, he was doing his job well, and his life was taken from us this morning," Spurlock said.

Authorities have not been able to positively identify the suspect yet, but Spurlock said they were familiar with him.

Douglas County Sheriff's OfficeThe four deputies responded around 5:15 a.m. ET when a neighbor called with a noise complaint. They initially thought it was a domestic disturbance, but authorities realized after arriving on the scene that it was just a disturbance.

The officers arrived at the same time, went into the bedroom of the apartment they had received a complaint about and encountered the suspect, Spurlock said. While they were talking to the suspect and investigating the dispute, he barricaded himself inside the bedroom and began shooting, firing over 100 rounds.

"He knew we were coming," Spurlock added, and described the encounter as an ambush-style attack. All four deputies went down within seconds of one another. The injured officers were able to crawl to safety as the suspect continued shooting, but they had to leave Parish behind because he was unconscious.

They were all wearing bullet-proof vests and body cameras, and Spurlock said investigators will be reviewing the footage.

At least eight ambulances arrived on the scene as the situation unfolded, according to Denver7 News, ABC's affiliate in the area.

Multiple roads were shut down as officials were neutralizing the suspect. Five agencies, including the Colorado State Patrol, were placed on accident alert, meaning civilians in minor accidents that involved no injuries, drugs, or alcohol were asked to wait a few days to report the information to police.

The sheriff's office also announced earlier on Sunday that because of the investigation's size and scope, it had set up an emergency shelter near the area for those who had been displaced from their homes while the investigation continued.

President Donald Trump addressed the shooting on Twitter Sunday afternoon, using the hashtag #LESM, which typically means "law enforcement social media."

"My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @DCSheriff, and their families," he tweeted. "We love our police and law enforcement - God Bless them all! #LESM"