Thornton police officer shot and hospitalized; suspect killed by police

An assault suspect is dead and a Thornton police officer was injured in a shooting Wednesday morning.

Thornton police say the shooting happened near Thornton Parkway and Gale Boulevard and was first reported just around 3:30 a.m. Officers were searching for a suspect in an assault at a nearby gas station. When they found him, a physical struggle ensued and the suspect grabbed an officer's gun.

"The officer struggled to retain his weapon," the department said in a news release. "During the struggle the officer was shot and suffered a serious injury."

Another officer then shot the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The Thornton officer who was shot has been taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the department said.

The intersection was closed when more officers arrived and reopened around 11 a.m.

Neither the deceased suspect nor the officers have been identified, but the department said the officer who fired their weapon has been on the force for a year. They're now on paid administrative leave, per department policy, and the 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Review Team will investigate the shooting.