DENVER — A Colorado State Patrol trooper is recovering after being shot in the arm near Denver that left the gunman dead, authorities said.
Corporal Tye Simcox was sitting in his parked pickup truck on the median of U.S. 36 Saturday afternoon when a passing driver shot him multiple times with a semi-automatic pistol, The Denver Post reportedThe shooter, whose name has not been released, then stopped, got out of his vehicle and fired more shots through the windshield of the marked patrol vehicle.
Simcox got out of the truck with his rifle and returned fire, killing the suspect, said Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard.
“I will tell you very directly that our member was targeted today by a man who wanted to kill him, and that is shocking and unacceptable,” Packard said during a news conference Saturday night.
Simcox applied a tourniquet to his arm while he waited for state patrol troopers and Westminster police officers to arrive. He was treated and released from the hospital.
Investigators do not know why the shooter attacked the officer, Packard said.
“I want it to be known that we came out on top today, and that’s really important, because that’s what makes right,” Packard told reporters. “Good and courageous people win over evil cowardice — and that’s what happened today on Highway 36.”