DENVER (CBS4) – Police in northeast Denver shot and wounded a suspect wanted for sex offenses after the man became confrontational.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of a Walmart at 7800 Smith Road in the Stapleton neighborhood.
Police sent out a tweet saying officers used pepper spray to try to subdue the suspect and then shot at the suspect and struck them in the shoulder.
No police officers were hurt.
“Officers did approach. At this time a struggle did ensue. ‘OC’ spray was deployed and in the midst of the struggle, shots were fired,” said Denver Police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez.
Police identified the suspect as John Thomas Clark in a tweet posted Friday evening. Clark, 42, was described as being in serious but not critical condition at the hospital after the incident.
Clark was wanted for failuring to appear in Arapahoe County court for sentencing for sex assault on a child.
According to court documents, Clark was charged with eight felony counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 15 in 2005.
A tip led police to the Walmart parking lot.
A Denver officer who was responding to the scene in their police cruiser crashed into another car at the intersection of Smith Road and Central Park West.
(credit: CBS)
Both cars were heavily damaged, and people inside both cars sustained minor injuries.
