Foot traffic slowly returned to Arvada’s Olde Town Tuesday morning, after a shooting there Monday afternoon left three dead including highly-respected Arvada Police Officer Gordon Beesley.
Beesley was responding to a call of a man behaving suspiciously at the Arvada Army and Navy Surplus Shop at West 57th Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard about 1:30 p.m.
Police said witnesses who were shopping and eating lunch in the downtown district heard loud popping noises like fireworks aroundt 1:30 p.m. Police said the shooting claimed the lives of Beesley, a bystander described as a “samaritan” and the shooting suspect.
Arvada Police Chief Link Strate told reporters Tuesday Beesley was targeted by the suspect because Beeley was a police officer.
Downtown Arvada was locked down Monday night but reopened around 10:30 p.m.
Outside police headquarters Tuesday morning, a memorial to Beesley slowly grew out of flowers, stuffed animals and a handmade sign from Oberon Middle School, where Beesley worked as a school resource officer.
“Officer Beesly was a hugely, hugely respected officer,” Arvada Mayor Marc Williams told the Denver Gazette. “As a mayor you never want to have this kind of thing happen and it now has. These police officers are fellow humans who get up every morning to serve and protect us. And their families never know if they’re gonna come home, and this officer is not gonna come home.”
A 19-year veteran of the Arvada Police Department, the married father of two was working patrol during the summer. At Oberon, Beesley was dedicated to “fostering a safe environment in his school, opening the lines of communication for the students, and teaching them the importance of integrity as they move to the next phase of their lives,” the city’s website said of Beesley.
Beesley and his family tried to take advantage of all aspects of outdoors in Colorado including hiking, biking, skiing and camping, the website states. Beesley also played the drums with his band Misfit Toyz, Williams told the Gazette. He was also city of Arvada’s Employee of the Year in 2014.
The city’s website also said Beesley’s motto is: “Look for the good in every day.”
