A "hero" that shot a gunman was himself shot dead by police in a tragic misunderstanding on Monday (June 21).
Per the HuffPost, gunman Ronald Troyke, 59, had ambushed Arvada Police Officer Gordon Beesley in a Denver suburb on Monday.
Per a timeline and edited video released by police, Officer Beesley had been responding to a report of a suspicious person, when Troyke pulled up next to the cop's patrol car in his truck.
Footage shows Troyke - who police say had previously expressed hatred for cops - running toward Officer Beesley down an alley. Troyke then raised his firearm and fatally shot the officer as two people stood nearby.
"We lost two heroes on June 21st..."Per police narration of apparent surveillance footage, Troyke then grabbed an AR-15 rifle from his truck, when he was confronted by Johnny Hurley.
Hurley, 40, then fatally shot Troyke with his handgun.
However, when police arrived, Hurley was reportedly holding Troyke's AR-15, and officers mistook him for the slain suspect. An officer then opened fire and killed Hurley - which the footage does not reportedly show.
Police Chief Link Strate has since hailed Hurley as a "hero" who actions "can only be described as decisive, courageous and effective in stopping further loss of life".
Strate added that Hurley's death was "equally tragic" to Beesley’s killing.
The officer who shot Hurley has remained unnamed, but is currently under investigation by a team from Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. The investigation will determine whether or not the officer was justified in using deadly force.
The unnamed officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
In another statement, the Arvada Police Department added: "Finally, it is clear that the suspect bears responsibility for this tragic sequence of events."
Per Reuters, police have also released excerpts from a four-page handwritten manifesto penned by Troyke in which he vowed to kill as many police officers as he could. The manifesto was found in his apartment, and one excerpt reportedly reads:
"I just hope I don’t die without killing any of you pigs."
"We the people were never your enemy, but we are now," another excerpt read.
Forty minutes prior to the shootings, Troyke’s brother called the police and asked officers to check on him, fearing he would "do something crazy". Police have confirmed that both Beesley and another officer called in at Troyke's home near downtown Denver, but were unable to locate him.
Beesley then responded to a call from a teenager reporting a suspicious person.
Hurley's family has since issued a statement on Friday night (June 25), thanks the city and the police for their support. The family adds that they are waiting for the outcome of the investigation.
Speaking to Denver news station KMGH-TV, witness Bill Troyanos spoke about Hurley's actions, saying: "He did not hesitate; he didn’t stand there and think about it. He totally heard the gunfire, went to the door, saw the shooter and immediately ran in that direction."
A GoFundMe has since been set up for Hurley's family, which has raised over $55,000 as of this writing.
