Lakewood Officer Killed, Three Others Wounded in Bus Shooting, Police Say

Four officers shot

November 6, 2026 · 6:50 a.m. Central / 5:50 a.m. Mountain

A Lakewood, Colorado, police officer was killed and three other officers were wounded Thursday evening in a shooting on a public bus west of Denver, according to police.

Police said officers shot and killed the suspected gunman. A bystander was also injured, but the extent of that person’s injuries was not known in the department’s latest statement.

The department said the three surviving officers were in stable condition when it issued the statement. Medical conditions can change; authorities had not released their names or the name of the officer who died.

What police have said

Officers responded around 6:30 p.m. Mountain time Thursday near West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard after a report of a suspicious person, police said. The encounter involved a Regional Transportation District bus.

Police said the man began firing after officers contacted him on the bus and that officers returned fire. Police identified him as a suspect in an earlier hit-and-run; The Associated Press reported that police said he may have been involved. That connection remains part of the investigation.

Neither the man’s identity nor a motive had been publicly established in the available police statement. Axios Denver reported that the transit agency said the bus was serving Route 76.

What remains under investigation

The First Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the shooting, police said. The department said it would provide further updates after reviewing incoming information.

The account of how the confrontation unfolded comes from police and has not yet been tested by a completed independent investigation. Officials had not said who caused the bystander’s injury or given a current assessment of that person’s condition.

Where it happened

The star marks the approximate West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood area.

★ Approximate West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood area. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Open map.

What is known so far

Times are Mountain time and approximate where indicated.

About 6:30 p.m., November 5 Lakewood officers responded near Colfax and Wadsworth to a suspicious-person call, according to police.
Thursday evening Police said gunfire on the bus injured four officers and a bystander; the suspected gunman was shot and killed.
Later Thursday The department announced one officer had died and said the other three were in stable condition.