A woman was shot Thursday night after a protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Aurora. An employee of GEO Group, which operates the facility, was arrested in connection with the shooting.
The shooting came after a confrontation between protesters and the suspect, Brandon Booth, 42, according to the Aurora Police Department.
The woman’s injuries are believed to be non-fatal.
Aurora PD responded to the shooting at 7:30 p.m., finding a woman had been shot in her lower body. She was with another woman who was uninjured.
Police then stopped and detained Booth, 42, a GEO Group employee, not far from the facility on the 3100 block of Nome Street.
Police reported that Booth and his colleagues had been unable to get into the facility for their work shifts due to the protest. The two women reportedly took pictures of the employees’ cars and got into a verbal altercation with the employees before walking away.
Booth then took out his personal firearm and fired one shot in the direction of the women, hitting one woman, police alleged. He got back into his car and drove away, according to Aurora PD.
“We are aware that an off-duty Aurora ICE Processing Center employee was involved in a shooting incident,” wrote a GEO group spokesperson. “This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Booth was booked on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, felony menacing, and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon, according to Aurora PD.
“This is a tragedy on all fronts, and the Aurora Police Department will investigate this incident with the same commitment to transparency and integrity as we do all shootings,” said Aurora Chief of Police Todd Chamberlain in a press release. “We remain committed to ensuring an ethical, thorough, objective, and comprehensive review of this case. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Aurora. Constitutional rights are a pivotal part of a just society – violence is not.”
Anyone with information, including videos, can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and may be eligible for a $2,000 reward.
