New video the Colorado State Patrol released Monday shows the moments immediately after a gunman attacked a trooper on Sept. 7.
Investigators still don’t know why 23-year-old Victor Anthony De Santiago shot Corporal Tye Simcox that Saturday afternoon. Simcox was parked in the median of Highway 36 in Westminster when De Santiago approached in a pickup truck, slowed down and fired a handgun at the trooper multiple times.
Simcox suffered a bullet wound to his right arm, but quickly returned fire during a brief shootout with De Santiago, who was struck and died at the scene.
The footage CSP compiled from multiple officer-worn body cameras shows that after shooting De Santiago, Simcox called for backup, and was approached by an off-duty police officer and another bystander who saw the shooting unfold. Both of those individuals offered assistance to the trooper and said they had firearms, but Simcox said not to draw them.
Another CSP trooper and officers from the Westminster Police Department arrived moments later and provided Simcox with medical attention before he went to the hospital. Those officers also checked on De Santiago at the scene.
In a press conference Monday, CSP Chief Matthew Packard called the attack an “ambush” and said it appears Simcox was a “target of opportunity.”
Packard repeated multiple times that there is no indication De Santiago was affiliated with any international gangs, which was the subject of speculation by several conservative social media accounts.
“I can say he’s got gang activity in his history, but I can’t speak to whether he was currently associated or involved with a gang. But it was a local gang,” Packard said, declining to specify which one.
De Santiago, who was born in California and lived in Thornton, had an extensive criminal record. In 2015, he pleaded guilty in a Weld County court to a felony charge of menacing with a real or simulated weapon. He also had convictions for drug possession, and faced numerous driving-related charges.
CSP will review how to prevent similar attacks in the future, but Packard said he isn’t sure what could have stopped the attack on Simcox. Packard said Simcox and other CSP officers regularly parked at the spot along Highway 36 because it was surrounded by two concrete barricades, which provided protection on both sides.
In a statement released Monday, Simcox said, "I am extremely blessed to be alive and am very thankful for everyone's support and prayers."
