Police in Grand Junction shot a man Friday evening after a reported stabbing at the Dairy Queen on North Avenue, and he later died at a hospital. The same stretch of road was left with damaged cars, a knocked-down telephone pole and a taped-off restaurant scene that drew a heavy police presence.
Officers were called at 6:30 p.m. to the Dairy Queen at 709 North Avenue after multiple reports of a man with a knife. Police said the man allegedly stabbed a customer, left the building and got into a vehicle in the parking lot, where officers found him as they arrived. The officer-involved shooting followed, then the man drove off and crashed into a vehicle before being stopped after striking four vehicles at North 1st st and North Ave.
Two people were hospitalized, including the customer who was stabbed and one motorist hit in the chain of events. The suspect was also taken to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The Mesa County Coroner’s Office had not yet released his identity or manner of death as of Saturday, and the Critical Incident Response Team is continuing to investigate.
There is still one fact that has not been explained: why the man allegedly stabbed the customer, and what set off the confrontation that ended in gunfire. KJCT had reported it had not received official confirmation that the Dairy Queen scene and the damaged-vehicle scene were linked, but the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office later said the suspect struck four vehicles and a vehicle left the parking lot, tying the episodes together in its update.
Per Grand Junction Police Department policy, the involved officers were placed on administrative leave. Anyone with information or video of Friday’s incident is being asked to contact Investigator Kandyce Stuckenschneider at 244-3266 or by email at [email protected]. For the people who were hurt, and for those still trying to piece together how a call about a knife turned into a death on a busy Grand Junction corner, the unanswered question is no longer whether the scenes were connected. It is what began the violence in the first place.
