“So next door to me, I heard some loud banging almost 7 a.m. And I heard some screaming and some yelling and then a few minutes I did hear some loud noises, which I later realized were gunshots. A lot of them,” resident Reya Rossel told the Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News. She said she believed the shooter was one of her neighbors.

Both the suspect and a woman from inside of the apartment were taken to a nearby hospital around 10 a.m. The scene was then considered secure, the department said. 

A 34-year-old man suspected in the shooting was shot by officers and “taken to a hospital with serious injuries,” according to the release. His identity was not released.

Police were initially called to the apartments on a disturbance report by a neighbor. When the officers arrived, they heard a man making threats. Quickly after, they heard gunshots, Rachel Haslett, a spokesperson for the department, said during a press conference.

The suspect was allegedly firing shots into the parking lot and surrounding units, damaging some nearby apartments and vehicles. 

SWAT and crisis negotiators attempted to communicate with the man for around four hours, but he fired shots at police from the apartment sporadically throughout. 

“He was aiming for our officers, as well,” Haslett said, noting that initially it was an active shooter and barricaded hostage situation. “A lot of people were in danger.”

The officers then forced entry into the apartment. One officer fired his weapon at the suspect, but it is unknown whether the suspect was shot. The officers were then able to detain the man, Haslett said.

The suspect busted out one of the windows, leaned out and unloaded a full clip toward the police, Anthony Rurupe, a nearby resident, told The Denver Gazette. 

“It didn’t really look like he was trying to aim at anybody. It looked like he was just indiscriminately unloading on anything to the west,” he said.

Rurupe’s partner, Jennifer Komperda, had been walking their dogs around 7 a.m. when a neighbor yelled that there was an active shooter. The duo then watched the scene unfold from their window. 

“We could hear them over the intercom begging and pleading for him to come out,” Rurupe said. Officers asked them to evacuate their side of the building, due to its close proximity to the shooting.

SWAT members then used the couple’s apartment balcony to get a good view of the suspect’s apartment.

After evacuating, the couple heard one really powerful shot, as if from a high-powered rifle, and then multiple shots like fireworks. 

Rurupe, who has lived in Broomfield for around two years, said the area is usually very low crime and lowkey. 

“It feels a little surreal. It’s kind of hard to believe that this is really going on right now just a block down the road,” he said.

“It’s going to be an active crime scene and it’s going to be closed for a while,” Haslett said. 

Several officers fired their guns, so a Critical Incident Response Team of the 17th Judicial District is investigating. 

Any residents who discover any items or damage that might be related to the shooting when they return home are asked to call BPD’s non emergency number at 303-438-6400.