DENVER — A man was shot and killed by Denver police after he allegedly stabbed a 7-Eleven clerk and took two people hostage during a potential robbery Friday night.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said officers were called out to reports of a stabbing at the 7-Eleven located at 450 Federal Boulevard around 6:50 p.m. When officers arrived, they found a clerk who was “under duress” behind a door that led to a back room.
Thomas said his officers heard an altercation happening in the back room, but the door was locked. After their commands went unanswered, the officers took a battering ram to the door and made their way inside, according to the police chief.
The officers saw a suspect and two victims inside the room. The suspect had a hold on one of the victims and was “threatening him with a sharp object,” according to Thomas. The police chief said the officers opened fire until the suspect went down.
Medics at the scene performed life-saving measures on the suspect, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.