No Charges Filed in Woodland Park’s “Black Friday” Fatal Shooting
Police Chief: Self Defense Cited as Possible Motive; Investigation Launched by CBI
Trevor Phipps
“Black Friday” activity came to an abrupt and tragic halt in downtown Woodland Park recently, when residents reported the sound of a gun shot fired at a local shopping center.
The City Market parking lot was left empty that evening and many avoided the area the next day, with few details getting released and rampant rumors bombarding social media sites.
Just before 7 p.m. on Black Friday, the police issued a press release stating that there was a shooting in the City Market parking lot involving injuries. “Due to the sensitivities surrounding the parties involved, I can’t release more at this point but we have everyone involved and are continuing to investigate,” Woodland Park Police Chief Chris Deisler said in the initial press release.
All that was reported initially was that there was a male injured in the shooting and that he was being treated at a local hospital. The next morning just after 7 a.m., the police department reported that the shooting victim “has succumbed to his injuries and has died.”
Residents were left in the dark for a couple days while the incident was under investigation. Then about 72 hours following the fatal shooting, police reported some limited details surrounding the incident. However, the case is now being investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to the Woodland Park Police Department, the incident started on Black Friday just after 5 p.m. when a mother and father met to exchange custody of a child. During the exchange, a physical altercation broke out between the child’s father, the child’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend.
At some point during the altercation, witnesses say 28-year-old Luis Morales (the biological father of the child) threatened the mother’s boyfriend. More eyewitness accounts recalled that the mother’s boyfriend then pulled out a gun a fired a single shot striking Morales.
Bystanders and first responders gave Morales first aid on the scene before he was transported to a hospital in Colorado Springs. He then later died at the hospital.
The police have not released the names of the mother, child or the 29-year-old shooter as CBI is still investigating the case. Police said that the shooter stayed on scene and has been cooperating with authorities. The shooter has since been released and he has not yet had any charges filed against him.
According to Chief Deisler, police are investigating self-defense as a factor in the totality of the case. In Colorado, CRS 18-1-704 states that people are allowed to use physical force “in order to defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and he may use a degree of force which he reasonably believes to be necessary for that purpose.”
The police have refrained from releasing any further details, despite many inquired from residents on social media sites. This is the first time in many years that a fatal shooting has occurred in the City Market shopping center area.
