On a summer evening in June 2023, 52-year-old Craig Bruce was standing on the side of a road in Lakewood, a city near Littleton, Colorado. As he was soliciting by the northbound off-ramp of 6th Avenue and Simms Street, a vehicle approached. Witnesses later reported that a person inside a Jeep shot Bruce before the vehicle sped away. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m.
First responders arrived to find Bruce with a gunshot wound and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Before undergoing surgery, he was able to briefly speak with police, stating that he was simply walking down the road when he was 'shot out of nowhere.' He indicated that he did not know who shot him or why, and mentioned no argument or altercation. Despite the efforts of the surgical staff over two hours, the damage from the single bullet was too extensive, and Craig Bruce passed away. Doctors were able to keep him alive long enough for his family to arrive and say their goodbyes.
The investigation into the seemingly random act of violence quickly focused on tracking down the suspect's vehicle. Using witness descriptions and traffic camera footage, detectives identified the vehicle as a distinctive red Jeep Cherokee. The day after the shooting, police located the Jeep in Parker and followed it to a home in Strasburg. The suspect, identified as Randy Jiron, 40, of Aurora, surrendered to a SWAT team and was taken into custody.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Jiron had previous contact with law enforcement. The FBI had requested Aurora police to contact him months prior due to multiple threatening phone calls he had made to the National Threat Operation Center, where he made statements about mass shootings. He had also been contacted by police for a mental health crisis. In October 2024, a jury found Randy Jiron guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Craig Bruce. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
