Investigators say an off-duty Colorado sheriff’s deputy fired a bullet straight down the barrel of a suspect’s gun, a shot they called “one in a billion.”
The detail emerged in a letter from prosecutors Wednesday announcing that Arapahoe County Deputy Jose Marquez was justified in shooting the attempted-robbery suspect, who survived. Marquez also was wounded in the January shooting and is still recovering.
The Aurora Sentinel newspaper in suburban Denver reports that Marquez was visiting his girlfriend’s apartment when two suspects approached him in the parking lot with their guns drawn.
The off-duty deputy told investigators that one suspect told him to “give it up.”
Marquez says the suspects fired first and he shot back. One was wounded in the leg and arrested, and the other got away.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I sure hope the perps gun was the same color as the cops. Sure don’t want a silver gun shooting and killing a black gun.
Silver bullets kill vampires!
Old 1, you need to grow up.
Why in hell should a policeman have to ‘justify’ defending himself and acquaintance against an armed criminal? Obviously, the crooks weren’t interested in greeting Mr. Marquez. Their whole intent was violent.
Here is a good reason to have a 45 cal. It would have hit the barrel and knocked the perp out from the force.
“1 in billion” odds is not right. Should be a much smaller number. (And depending quite a bit on how good a shot it was.)
If a billion rounds were fired accurately enough to hit a 12″ square target, do you really imagine only ONE would have been within a few mils of dead center (hence close enough to go up a gun barrel)? A billion is one heck of a big number.