A Space Force tech sergeant is facing murder charges after, police say, he chased down and shot two teenage boys that he’d caught breaking into his car outside Denver.
One of the boys died. The second, a 13-year-old, survived.
Space Force officials confirmed to Task and Purpose that Orest Schur, 27, is a technical sergeant in the service, stationed at Buckley Space Force Base, just east of Denver. According to Buckley spokesperson Second Lieutenant Sarah Skelton, Schur is a Signals Intelligence Analyst at Buckley. He joined the Space Force in 2022 after serving in the Army, she said.
Schur faces one charge each of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Police in Aurora, Colorado arrested Schur on July 5 after untangling a chaotic scene that unfolded just before midnight, July 5, in the suburb east of Denver. Schur, Aurora police said in a release, confronted the two boys as they were breaking into his Hyundai at roughly 11:20 p.m. When the two fled in a car, Schur chased them in his own vehicle for a block until the boys crashed.
Schur, police say, fired several shots at the boys’ car, striking both. Schur told police that the boys had fired at him first, but police say they found no weapon or bullets at the scene besides Schur’s, according to local reports.
One boy, who police identified as “teenaged,” was transported to a hospital by ambulance where he died. The second boy, 13, is expected to survive, police said.
Buckley Space Force Base is well known among Denver commuters for its array of huge “golf ball” radomes visible from local highways and neighborhoods. The giant white spheres house communication antennas that communicate with satellites, maintained and operated by Space Force personnel. Base units include the 2d and 12th Space Warning Squadrons, two of seven squadrons that control and monitor satellites under the service’s Space Delta 4 (a Delta is similar to an Air Force Wing).
Buckley also hosts Colorado Air National Guard, Navy, Marine, Army and Coast Guard units.
Correction: 7/11/2023;An earlier version of this story indicated that Buckley Space Force Base is west of Denver. It is east of Denver.