'Good Samaritan' Killed By Police After Killing Shooting Suspect

Johnny Hurley was shot and killed by an officer responding to the scene after he “undoubtedly saved many lives Monday afternoon,” authorities have said.

June 26, 2021

A man being considered a “good samaritan” was shot and killed by police in Colorado after shooting a man who killed a police officer.

Johnny Hurley was shot and killed by an officer responding to the scene after he “undoubtedly saved many lives Monday afternoon,” Arvada Police Chief Link Strate said.

Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Officer Gordon Beesley responded to a report of a suspicious person in Arvada, Colorado, before he was ambushed by 59-year-old Ronald Troyke who parked his truck and reportedly ran behind him with a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun, as shown on video. He shot the officer, before firing at windows of patrol cars. Troyke also left a note, reading that his goal was to “kill Arvada PD officers.”

Troyke then grabbed an AR-15 from his car and returned to the area when Hurley reportedly confronted him, shot him with a handgun and “undoubtedly saved many lives Monday afternoon,” officials said.

“It is clear that Mr. Hurley intervened in an active shooting that unfolded quickly,” Strate said in a statement. “He did so without hesitation.”

While the department previously reported that the gunman killed Hurley, Strate confirmed that a responding officer spotted Hurley with the AR-15 and killed him.

“Our police department and our community’s view of Mr. Hurley and his actions are heroic,” Strate said, as the department has since shared a fundraiser for Hurley.