Shooting between Rocky Mountain National Park ranger, suspect closes Fall River entrance

Sady Swanson, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·1 min read

Update, 7:30 a.m. Thursday: The Fall River entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park reopened Wednesday evening, according to the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park remained closed in the area of the Fall River Entrance on Wednesday afternoon after a park ranger exchanged gunfire with a suspect reportedly involved in a vehicle pursuit earlier in the day.

A national park service law enforcement ranger contacted two people in a vehicle near the Fall River Entrance about 10:15 a.m. who were reportedly involved in a vehicle pursuit earlier in the day outside the park, according to park spokesperson Kyle Patterson.

During the contact, the ranger was shot, but his ballistic vest protected him from serious injuries, Patterson said in an emailed update. The ranger exchanged fire and injured one of the suspects, Patterson said.

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The ranger and the injured suspect were taken to a hospital for treatment, and a second uninjured suspect was taken into custody, Patterson said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the area from outside the Fall River Entrance to Deer Ridge Junction was closed while officials investigated. The Federal Bureau of Investigation will lead the investigation.

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith posted about the shooting on Facebook on Wednesday morning to say that the sheriff's office will provide assistance to federal agencies in the investigation.

Editor's note: This story on a shooting in Rocky Mountain National Park that closed the Fall River Entrance of the park was updated Wednesday afternoon to reflect additional information provided by the park.

Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County government and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Rocky Mountain National Park Fall River entrance closed due to shooting