Sheriff's Deputy Killed, Two Others Injured In Colorado Eviction Shootout
The Park County deputy had been on the force for 13 years.
A sheriff's deputy was fatally shot, and two other deputies seriously wounded, as they tried to serve an eviction notice in rural Colorado on Wednesday, officials said.
Deputies with @jeffcosheriffco & Park County just left Deer Creek Elementary near the home in #Bailey.
At around 9:30 a.m. local time, the three Park County deputies attempted to serve the eviction notice on the property in Bailey, southwest of Denver, when a man opened fire with a rifle, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.
The SWAT team is at the house. #ParkCoShooting
The man was later identified as Martin Wirth, who was killed in the shootout.
Cpl. Nate Carrigan, a deputy who has worked with the Park County Sheriff's Office for 13 years, died at the scene.
Two others were also injured. Master Patrol Deputy Kolby Marin, an 11-year veteran in Park County, was flown to a hospital for surgery after being shot multiple times in the lower extremities, authorities said. Marin's injuries were described as life-threatening.
Capt. Mark Hancock, a 21-year veteran of the department, was grazed by a bullet at his ear.
SWAT officers were also called to the property, the Park County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, and at one point had the property surrounded.
The SWAT teams has the residence surrounded. #ParkCoShooting
The address, 36 Iris Drive, had been listed on the website Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition.
The website, as well as an accompanying YouTube video, request a call for "non-violent...resistance" against an eviction notice issued against Wirth, who the website lists as the property occupier.
View this video on YouTube
"In an effort to defend our constitutional rights, I am calling for all people to stand with me in a non-violent eviction defense of my property," reads a statement purportedly from Wirth on the website.
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David Mack is a deputy director of breaking news for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact David Mack at david.mack@buzzfeed.com.
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