A man being considered a “good samaritan” was shot and killed by police in Colorado after shooting a man who killed a police officer.
Johnny Hurley was shot and killed by an officer responding to the scene after he “undoubtedly saved many lives Monday afternoon,” Arvada Police Chief Link Strate said.
Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Officer Gordon Beesley responded to a report of a suspicious person in Arvada, Colorado, before he was ambushed by 59-year-old Ronald Troyke who parked his truck and reportedly ran behind him with a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun, as shown on video. He shot the officer, before firing at windows of patrol cars. Troyke also left a note, reading that his goal was to “kill Arvada PD officers.”
Troyke then grabbed an AR-15 from his car and returned to the area when Hurley reportedly confronted him, shot him with a handgun and “undoubtedly saved many lives Monday afternoon,” officials said.
“It is clear that Mr. Hurley intervened in an active shooting that unfolded quickly,” Strate said in a statement. “He did so without hesitation.”
While the department previously reported that the gunman killed Hurley, Strate confirmed that a responding officer spotted Hurley with the AR-15 and killed him.
“Our police department and our community’s view of Mr. Hurley and his actions are heroic,” Strate said, as the department has since shared a fundraiser for Hurley.
