Broomfield neighbors "shaken," "scared" after deadly Colorado standoff

A woman is dead and a suspect is in custody after a terrifying morning at the Arista Flats Apartments in Broomfield.

At 6:30 a.m. on Thursday someone called police in the Colorado city for a disturbance at an apartment. When Broomfield police responded to the unit, they heard a man making threats.

"He was threatening to hurt people," said Broomfield Police Department Public Information Officer Rachel Haslett.

Then the man began shooting.

"We had somebody who was actively firing at our officers, other units," said Haslett.

Police evacuated some residents and sent a reverse 911 notification to others telling them to shelter in place. Then SWAT officers began negotiating with the suspect.

Denise Basch lives in the complex and was walking her dog at 8 a.m. when she heard gunshots.

"As soon as I put her down on the grass, I heard pow-pow-pow," said Basch.

Nolan Annis also lives in the complex and was just leaving when she accidentally ran into the situation.

"I turn the corner, and there's a police officer with, massive sniper, like, the biggest gun I've ever seen in my life. They're like, you need to go. You need to go," said Annis.

More three hours after the initial call, the situation came to an end when police forced entry and fired their weapons.

A woman police say was a hostage and victim was found in the apartment with a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital where she later died. A 34-year-old man police call a suspect was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Later in the day Heather Tallant recounted how she was walking her dog outside during the commotion when she was nearly hit by a bullet that went past her head and lodged in her bedroom window.

"My immediate reaction was to duck, scream and run," she said.

"I guess my blood curdling scream was heard throughout the complex."

Two other residents, Deja Criss and Chris Trevino, expressed sadness that someone died. They said it was terrifying being so close to the gunshots, especially with their baby.

"I hunt pretty frequently, so, I mean, it was pretty clear that it was pretty close," said Trevino.

"I had to kind of lock ourselves in the bathroom and pretend that nothing was happening even though I knew there was a bunch of stuff happening," Criss said.

Residents like Basch say they never expected this could happen there.

"I'm from Miami, so I had that when I was growing up. But not ... in this neighborhood," said Basch. "I'm a little shaken. A little scared."