Parents of students at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora are demanding an independent investigation into the school’s response to the attempted kidnapping of a child last week. A group of parents penned a letter to the Cherry Creek School District superintendent and board members calling for an immediate third-party review of the incident that they wrote, “raised serious concerns about the safety of our children while under school care.” Aurora police arrested Solomon Galligan, a 33-year-old man and registered sex offender, about three hours after he allegedly went to the school o ..read more

An Aurora school is closed Tuesday because of a break-in, according to the Aurora Police Department. A staff member reported the apparent burglary and vandalism at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy at 5 a.m., police say. Classes were canceled Tuesday for the police investigation and clean up, according to the academy. “There was significant damage done throughout our building. Due to the level of damage and because police need to investigate, we are unable to have school today,” Ryan Adams, the academy’s principal, said in Tuesday letter to Aurora West parents. Related Articles Crime a ..read more

A 33-year-old registered sex offender tried to kidnap a Black Forest Hills Elementary School student during recess Friday, according to an Aurora Police Department arrest affidavit. Solomon Galligan was arrested Friday evening, just over three hours after he allegedly walked onto school grounds holding a white blanket and tried to kidnap a child. Aurora police responded to a suspicious incident at the school — located at 25233 E. Glasgow Drive — at 2:22 p.m. Friday, according to an arrest affidavit. School staff showed police security video of a man, later identified as Galligan, walking up to ..read more

A man who fell into the Aurora Reservoir Monday after his boat capsized has died, according to Aurora police. Related Articles Crashes and Disasters | Brush fire in Eastern Arapahoe County is now out Crashes and Disasters | Wildfires burn at Air Force Academy, Fort Carson on Colorado’s second day of Red Flag warnings Crashes and Disasters | Car drives through Aurora home, causes gas leak Crashes and Disasters | Person trapped in garbage truck compactor rescued by Aurora firefighters A boat about 9:30 a.m. overturned near 2800 East Reservoir Dam Road, landing the man in the water, the Aur ..read more

An Amber alert for a 6-year-old girl has been canceled after the young girl was found, according to Aurora police. Police have taken a suspect into custody with the help of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities did not provide any other information about the suspect or circumstances surrounding the search, citing an ongoing investigation. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued the alert Sunday night at about 10:26 p.m., asking people to be on the lookout for a Black girl with black braided hair and brown eyes who was last known to be wearing a rainbow jacket. The alert stated t ..read more

The head of the prosthetics department at Aurora’s Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center improperly canceled 1,000 orders without contacting veterans who sought artificial limbs, hearing aids and other devices to help them live more functional lives, a regional Veterans Affairs leader acknowledged. Sunaina Kumar-Giebel, director of the VA Rocky Mountain network, which includes the Aurora hospital, confirmed The Denver Post’s reporting from November that first uncovered the prosthetics order-deletion scheme that left vets without necessary equipment. “The consults were closed outside of gui ..read more

Photographs line the walls, plants sit on windowsills and a Buddhist altar is arranged atop a dresser. Nearly every surface of the living room is covered by an item or memento collected by Thin Soe, Ye Ye Thin and their five children over the years in their three-bedroom apartment in Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood. Since the Burmese couple first moved in 16 years ago, after arriving from a refugee camp in Thailand, the rental has become their long-term home — as they’ve struggled to keep up with the rising costs in an area where they don’t always feel safe. Thin Soe, 66, at his family’s apa ..read more

Earlier this month, Xcel Energy cut electricity to about 55,000 customers along the Front Range to reduce wildfire risks from wind gusts that topped 100 mph. Another 95,000 of its customers lost power because of downed power lines from those intense winds. Those outages, planned or forced, removed power to about 40 cellular towers that Verizon Wireless relies on. Verizon had alternate power sources in place to power the towers, part of its larger game plan to keep its network going in extreme conditions Wires and cables connect equipment in a room at Verizon’s emergency response and command ce ..read more

First lady Jill Biden plans to stop in Aurora this weekend to promote the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. First lady Jill Biden speaks next to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis at the Colorado Capitol on April 3, 2023, in Denver during a stop to highlight workforce training investments. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) Biden is set to land at Denver International Airport on Friday night. On Saturday at noon, she is scheduled to speak, and then take part in a roundtable discussion at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. President Joe Biden announced the ..read more

An Iowa truck driver was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday for fatally shooting a woman in an Aurora parking lot, according to a Monday news release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. John Thoren, 44, is charged with second-degree murder, a class two felony, and violent crime/use of a weapon. On the night of October 28, 2022, Thoren was sleeping in his semi-truck at a Boot Barn parking lot on 6360 South Parker Road. He said he awoke around 2:30 a.m. to an unknown woman throwing rocks at the driver’s side of his truck, according to the release. Related Articles Crime ..read more