A father who was awoken by sounds in his backyard was never able to return back to bed.
The tragedy happened early morning Wednesday in Aurora, Colorado.
The 49-year-old man and his son, who are currently unnamed, awoke to the sound of two suspects stealing scooters that had been parked in the backyard of their house, a statement released by the Aurora Police Department Wednesday evening said.
The pair confronted the suspects, but the thieves quickly rode off on the stolen property. The father and son then got in their pickup truck and chased them, police said.
During this chase, shots were fired at the pickup, not injuring either the father or son.
Once they returned home, however, the two noticed a vehicle driving by the front of their house. Someone in the vehicle fired several rounds into the home, and one bullet struck the father, fatally wounding him.
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Officers responded to a report of a shooting on the father and son's block at 4:39 a.m. Once there, they located the man inside the home "with an obvious gunshot wound."
"Officers performed life-saving actions until Aurora Fire Rescue arrived and took over emergency medical treatment," the department said. "Those life-saving actions were unsuccessful, and the man died at the scene."
The Aurora Police Department Major Crime Homicide Unit is now investigating the fatal shooting stemming from the theft. So far, investigators said they have identified multiple scenes connected to the crime, including a neighbor's yard where the scooters were found.
Though they haven't yet identified the suspects, investigators don't believe there is a threat to the public.
