Naomi Vialpando, a 42-year-old White female, was found dead inside her Severance, Colorado home on October 25, 2023, after an afternoon standoff that drew officers from multiple agencies to the Hidden Valley subdivision. Police Chief Ken Chavez said a 911 call came in at 2:35 p.m. reporting shots fired on the 800 block of Emerald Lake Street; a juvenile had fired a shot outside, striking a vehicle across the street, then barricaded himself in the home with a relative.
As tactical teams converged and neighbors sheltered in place, negotiators treated it as a barricaded suspect rather than a hostage situation, because no threats were relayed about the mother’s safety.
By early evening, with streets sealed and nearby schools briefly locked down, the Weld County Regional SWAT team breached the residence around 7:30 p.m. Officers discovered Naomi deceased from a gunshot wound and the juvenile dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. The shelter-in-place was lifted around 8:20 p.m., ending a tense operation that had unfolded across several hours and drew support from Windsor Police, Colorado State Patrol, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, and Ault Police.
Days later, authorities publicly identified the deceased as Naomi Vialpando and her 15-year-old son, Joshua Vialpando. Investigators said evidence indicated Joshua shot his mother before taking his own life, and the Weld County Coroner confirmed the identities in releases reported by local media. The event was widely described by officials as a tragic family case of apparent murder-suicide rather than a broader threat to the community.
There were no arrests. Police named no other suspects beyond the deceased juvenile, and the narrative of the day—from the initial shot outside the house to the final entry by SWAT—remained consistent in official accounts and media summaries. Memorial pages and local reports continued to mark Naomi’s death as the result of gun violence in Severance on October 25, 2023.
