Northwest Aurora Drive-By Wounds Driver Who Sped Himself to Hospital

A man was shot during a drive-by attack near East 5th Avenue and Fulton Street in Northwest Aurora last Saturday night, then drove himself to a hospital rather than wait for help to arrive. Police still have no suspects and are asking anyone with information to come forward. According to Sentinel Colorado, the man told investigators a dark-colored sedan pulled up next to his car at the intersection before its occupants opened fire, striking his vehicle several times. He suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds and made his own way to a nearby hospital, where officers were called at about 10:45 p.m. Saturday. The suspect vehicle sped from the scene, and as of publication, no suspect information had been released. Aurora Police spokesperson Joy Moylan confirmed to the outlet that the suspect vehicle fled the area after the shooting. The circumstances that led up to the attack remain unknown, and no arrests have been made in the case. Police are asking anyone with information to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867, where tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. This is not the first time in recent weeks that a gunshot victim in Aurora has had to transport himself to safety. On August 18, police arrested an 18-year-old Denver man after a shooting and robbery in Northwest Aurora in which the 21-year-old victim also drove himself to a hospital for treatment, as per Hoodline. Self-transported victims like these create immediate challenges for investigators trying to pin down where a shooting actually took place. Vehicle-targeted gunfire has cropped up repeatedly across the city this summer. An August 10 road-rage shooting on Interstate 225 wounded a driver, and police arrested a 35-year-old man on August 14 in connection with a random shooting aimed at a motorist elsewhere on the interstate. Officers have increasingly leaned on automated license plate readers and real-time camera networks to trace vehicles fleeing drive-by scenes. Northwest Aurora has seen this kind of violence before. In November 2021, a drive-by shooting in neighboring Nome Park wounded six high school students and led to attempted murder charges against multiple teenage suspects, a case that prompted calls for stronger safety protocols and youth violence prevention efforts in the area. Whoever fired into the man's car could face serious charges once identified. Colorado law classifies knowingly or recklessly discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle as illegal discharge of a firearm, a Class 5 felony carrying one to three years in prison and fines between $1,000 and $100,000, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. If prosecutors can show the shooting caused serious bodily injury, the case could also be charged as first-degree assault, a Class 3 felony that under Colorado Revised Statutes carries a mandatory four to 12 years in prison, or up to 24 years if designated a crime of violence. The shooting lands against a backdrop of falling violent crime citywide. Midyear 2026 data from the Aurora Police Department showed overall crime down 10.5% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2025, with violent crime falling 9% and homicides dropping 59%, per CBS News. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain has credited the decline to targeted hot-spot policing and expanded technology, including automated license plate readers. A separate October 2025 study by the Common Sense Institute Colorado found Aurora's violent crime rate fell 36% between 2022 and 2025, the sharpest drop among Colorado's ten largest cities over that span, with Aurora's rate landing below Denver's for three consecutive years. Statewide, the Colorado Department of Public Safety reported violent crime down 13.3% compared to 2024, driven by a 29.5% reduction in homicides and double-digit declines in major cities including Aurora and Denver. Northwest Aurora itself has been the focus of targeted investment. In November 2025, voters approved the creation of the Aurora Downtown Development Authority along East Colfax Avenue to direct tax-increment financing toward public safety, infrastructure, and commercial revitalization, building on a $1.6 million state grant awarded in 2021 for pedestrian safety improvements in the neighborhood. Despite the citywide gains, the man's shooting adds to a string of vehicle-targeted gunfire incidents that have tested Aurora's recent progress. Police have not said whether the case is connected to any of the other recent shootings, and the motive behind Saturday's attack remains unclear. Anyone with information is urged to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers, an independent, volunteer-managed nonprofit founded in 1981 that has helped generate more than 3,300 arrests and clear over 5,800 cases through anonymous tips.