A former Space Force technical sergeant from Colorado has been convicted of murder after he fatally shot a teenager during a chaotic late-night confrontation over a suspected carjacking.
Technical sergeant shot at teenagers
Orest Schur, 27 at the time of the incident, gunned down 14-year-old Xavier Daniel Kirk and wounded another 13-year-old boy during a violent exchange in North Aurora, Colorado.
The confrontation, which took place just after 11 p.m. on July 5, 2023, ended with Schur facing a second-degree murder conviction that could lead to decades behind bars.
According to Aurora police, Schur was alerted to activity outside his residence when a car alarm began sounding.
Neighbors reportedly saw two individuals dressed in black trying to break into a Hyundai Elantra, the vehicle registered to Schur.
When confronted, the two teens fled in a separate vehicle suspected of being stolen, a Kia Rio.
But instead of contacting police, Schur jumped into his Hyundai and gave chase.
Technical sergeant chased after teens
Law enforcement said Schur followed the vehicle briefly before it crashed into a backyard fence. At that point, Schur opened fire.
“Schur, who was armed, got into his Hyundai and followed the other vehicle until it crashed a short distance away,” police said in a statement.
He “fired several shots at the people he suspected of trying to break into his car, striking both,” the police said.
Kirk, 14, was killed on the spot. His companion, just 13 years old, survived the shooting but sustained injuries.
NBC affiliate KUSA obtained a probable cause affidavit revealing that Schur initially told officers he had been shot at by the teens, though he was not injured.
Officers on the scene reportedly found no evidence the minors were armed.
The crashed Kia Rio was discovered with a shattered rear windshield and a bullet hole in the trunk.
A round had apparently traveled through the rear and embedded in the front driver’s seat, according to the report.
At the time of the shooting, Schur was stationed at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora.
His military background includes two tours in Afghanistan and weapons training.
Those qualifications, however, did little to sway the court when it came to civilian accountability.
Prosecutors argued that Schur escalated the situation by pursuing the teens and using lethal force rather than waiting for law enforcement.
Court records indicate that Schur is scheduled for sentencing on August 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Arkansas man guns down his family
Meanwhile, a separate tragedy unfolded hundreds of miles away in Arkansas, where a man was arrested for allegedly gunning down three members of his own family.
Bryant Police said they responded early Sunday morning to a grim discovery: a man had come home from work around 7:30 a.m. to find his wife and her parents dead inside their home. All three victims had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Three children were also in the home at the time of the killings but were found unharmed.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry, leading investigators to suspect that the victims knew their attacker.
Authorities quickly identified a suspect as 34-year-old family member Jarrod Mitchell.
Police later confirmed that the victims were Mitchell’s sister and parents. He was arrested and booked into the Saline County Detention Facility on three counts of first-degree murder.
Court records show Mitchell has a troubling past, though prior offenses were nonviolent and primarily drug-related.
In 2017, he was committed to a detox center against his will after allegedly threatening family members.
“On 6/18/17 he threatened his mother, her husband, and his sister. He had knives laid out on the bed and one on his person,” a petition for commitment read.
That document was signed by Mitchell’s grandparents, who he lived with at the time.
A judge determined Mitchell was likely addicted to alcohol or drugs and deemed him “homicidal, suicidal, or gravely disabled.”
Mitchell is being held on a $2 million bond and is expected to make a court appearance on August 5, according to KARK.
Law enforcement officials have not released a motive for the slayings, and the investigation remains ongoing.
