A man reportedly seen waving a gun at passing cars was detained and later released from police custody Thursday after an hours-long search that prompted officials to put Aspen Ridge Preparatory School on a secure status.
The man was released as of about 2:25 p.m., after being detained around 10:55 a.m., according to Lafayette Police Chief Brian Rosipajla and a Lafayette Police Department social media post.. Rosipajla said the suspect was the man reportedly seen with a gun and that the investigation remains ongoing.
There is no threat to the public, Rosipajla said. Rosipajla did not say why the man was released, saying instead that further investigation was necessary.
Lafayette and Erie police responded to reports of a man with a bleeding face waving a gun at passing cars around Colorado 7 and Airport Drive about 7:15 a.m. Thursday, according to the social media post. Witnesses told police that the man may have been in an older dark blue van, involved in a disturbance with a woman before getting out and heading into the fields north of Colorado 7.
At police direction, Aspen Ridge Preparatory School on Austin Avenue in Erie was placed on a secure status, meaning exterior doors were all locked and people were not permitted in or out of the building, according to Assistant Principal Eric Dudley.
Police found one handgun in the area of the investigation, according to the post.
The police investigation briefly closed Colorado 7 in both directions in the Lafayette and Erie areas. The closure stretched the highway between Coal Creek Boulevard, which is in Lafayette, and Bonanza Drive, east of the city, the post states. Part of the closure was inside Erie’s borders.
The road reopened about 8:45 a.m., after it was closed about 7:36 a.m., according to the post.
This is a developing story and may be updated.