An image of the road in Aurora, Colo., where the alleged robbery and shooting took place (screengrab via KDVR). Inset: Orest Schur (via Aurora Police).
A sergeant with the U.S. Space Force is facing murder charges after allegedly chasing down two teenagers trying to steal his car and shooting at them.
Orest Schur, 27, is facing first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder charges in connection with a July 6 shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced in a statement.
According to Aurora police, two minors were trying to break into Schur’s car shortly after 11:00 p.m. Around that time, residents in Schur’s North Aurora neighborhood “heard a car alarm going off and observed two people dressed in all black attempting to break into a Hyundai Elantra.”
Schur was the owner of that vehicle. According to police, he confronted the would-be burglars.
“The two people sped away in another suspected stolen vehicle,” the police statement said. “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,” according to police.
One of those people, identified by local NBC affiliate KUSA as 14-year-old Xavier Daniel Kirk, was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital where he died from his wounds.
The second person, 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.
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According to KUSA, a probable cause affidavit said that Schur initially told police that he had been fired upon by the fleeing teens, but that he wasn’t hurt.
Citing the affidavit, KUSA reported that officers at the scene found a Kia Rio crashed into a backyard fence of a home in the area. That car reportedly had a bullet hole in the trunk and the rear windshield was shattered, according to the affidavit. A bullet appeared to have traveled through the back of the front driver’s seat, the KUSA story said.
Police did not find any other weapons at the scene and only found shell casings that appeared to match Schur’s weapon, KUSA reported, citing the affidavit. Police also reportedly found no evidence that Schur’s car had been struck by gunfire.
Kirk had suffered two bullet wounds, KUSA reported, while the unidentified 13-year-old boy had a single gunshot wound.
According to KUSA, Schur is a technical sergeant assigned to Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora. His wife reportedly told authorities that Schur has had weapons training and had previously served two tours in Afghanistan.
Colorado does not have a “Stand Your Ground” law, although the state supreme court has held that there is no duty to retreat before using force in public.
Representatives from the U.S. Air Force did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
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