Wild Shootout Erupts as Officers Try to Rescue Clerks From Armed Suspect

Denver, Colorado — On October 27, 2025, a worker at a Maverik gas station in the 3200 block of South Parker Road, reported to police that a man pointed a gun at her and told her to lock the doors, leaving two clerks inside with the suspect. Investigators found that the suspect, later identified as 35-year-old Hosea Rasheed Moore, attempted to buy a pack of cigarettes, but when he couldn’t pay, he asked the clerks for a single cigarette instead. The employees told him they couldn’t sell singles, and that simple exchange is what set everything into motion. After that, Moore pulled out a handgun and ordered the workers to lock the doors, turn off the lights, and call the police while he stayed inside with them. As the clerks followed his commands, Moore smoked a cigarette taken from behind the counter, drank several small bottles of Fireball Whiskey, and even placed his driver’s license and Social Security card on the counter, almost as if he was preparing for a confrontation. By the time officers arrived outside, they heard a gunshot come from inside the locked store. Officers arriving outside heard a gunshot ring out from within the locked store, prompting them to break through the glass doorway and move quickly toward the trapped employees. What followed was an intense exchange of gunfire inside the cramped store as Moore fired multiple rounds from behind a row of merchandise shelves. Police returned dozens of shots, ultimately striking Moore, He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died. In the aftermath, one officer was found to have been shot in the leg, and both store clerks suffered minor injuries later attributed to bullet fragments or shrapnel from police rounds. The two employees were discharged from the hospital that night and the officer was released the next day. All are expected to fully recover from their injuries. The confrontation, which involved nearly 70 total shots, is now under review by Denver’s Critical Incident Response Team and will later undergo an internal assessment to determine whether responding officers acted within policy.