Orest Schur, a US Space Force Technical Sergeant stationed at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, is facing murder and attempted murder charges in relation to a July 6 shooting incident involving two minors who allegedly tried to steal his car.
Aurora police say Schur confronted the suspects and opened fire, hitting both of them, resulting in the death of one of the minors and injuring the other, Law and Crime reported.
“The two people sped away in another suspected stolen vehicle,” the police statement said, according to local NBC affiliate KUSA. “Schur, who was armed, got into his Hyundai and followed the other vehicle until it crashed a short distance away.” As Schur chased the minors, he “fired several shots at the people he suspected of trying to break into his car, striking both.”
One of the minors, identified as 14-year-old Xavier Daniel Kirk, was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital where he died from his wounds. The second teen, a 13-year-old boy, “ran to a nearby relative’s house and then self-transported to a local hospital,” police said. He is expected to survive.
Prosecutors allege that Schur was armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle during the encounter and that the minors involved may not be strangers. Details recounted by witnesses point towards possible premeditation, police said.
