Early-Morning DIA Crime Spree Under Investigation

DENVER, CO — Denver police are searching for two men involved in a mini crime spree involving alleged auto theft, shooting at officers and carjacking which started near Denver International Airport early Wednesday morning.

Police got a call around 1:15 a.m. that two cars had been stolen from the Hertz Rent-A-Car lot near the 7500 block of Pena Boulevard. The cars were abandoned with flat tires near north of Pena in the airport's cell phone lot, said Denver police spokesperson Doug Schepman.

Police attempted to approach two men in the 24700 block of East 75th Avenue, and one of them pulled out a gun and fired shots at the officers, Schepman said. The officers did not return fire, he said. The men fled toward the DIA Pike's Peak lot as police called for backup to try to "create a perimeter," Schepman said.

Meanwhile, police got a report that a woman's BMW SUV had been carjacked by two men from the Pike's Peak shuttle lot at 24300 E. 75th Avenue. The woman remained in the car "for a period of time," Schepman said, and then managed to exit the car near the 4400 block of Havana north of Interstate-70.

Schepman said it was unclear whether she was pushed from the car or jumped out, but that she was injured with a "laceration on her head." She was taken to a nearby hospital, Schepman said.

The SUV was recovered, abandoned, in 1600 block of North Ulster Street sometime around 3 a.m., Schepman said.

Schepman said Denver police wanted the public to know that the carjacking incident was related to the two men fleeing and police believed there was no danger to the public at DIA. "We believe [the carjacking] is an isolated incident," he said. "We don’t believe they were targeting people for carjacking in that lot."

Investigators are still actively working the case, he said. Police detectives have not released any information about the two subjects, except that they are men. Investigators are identifying surveillance video and reviewing it, he said.

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