Alarming footage shows the moment a fleet of cops fired 36 shots at a would-be robber during a hostage situation.
The incident took place this month at a Denver 7-Eleven and saw suspect Christopher Cauch, 43, fatally shot.
Cops were called to the convenience store after Cauch took two of the employees hostage, responding to reports of a robbery in progress and a possible stabbing.
When they arrived, body camera footage from one of the four showed them being directed by staff members to the back room where Cauch was being held.
Surveillance footage from the room showed how Cauch began holding a sharp object to the neck of one of the 7-Eleven employees as officers closed in. Thirty-six shots in five seconds followed, seeing the suspect meet a brutal end.
Alarming footage shows the moment a fleet of cops fired 36 shots at a would-be robber during a hostage situation at a 7-Eleven in Denver on March 1. The suspect, identified as Christopher Cauch, 43, is seen here at left
As cops closed in, footage shows Cauch meeting a brutal end â shot dead in a hail of 36 bullets fired by at least two police officers
” Hands up ! Hands up ! Âğ One of the officers is heard screaming in a newly released clip of the harrowing encounter, which took place on the evening of March 1.
Cauch responds by slamming the door, which is still slightly ajar, while all the lawmen’s weapons remain drawn.
The officer filming is then heard radioing his colleagues to tell them that the suspect “has a knife”, while Cauch appears to hold the door closed with his body.
Meanwhile, simultaneous surveillance footage from the store shows the situation inside: Cauch holds the object around the neck of one of the employees while another cowers in fear.
From the footage, he appears to be trying to force the door closed.
Outside, the agents advance slowly, finally arriving within a few centimeters of the now closed door.
âDenver Police!â Open the door!’ shouts the officer, under the eyes of his three colleagues, their service weapons brandished.
‘Open the door!’ Âğ exclaims one of the other peace officers â after which a confused response is heard in the room.
The incident took place at this 7-Eleven on Federal Boulevard, where the suspect allegedly stopped in a stolen car around 7:30 p.m.
Arriving officers were then directed to a back office where the suspect was arrested with two employees, holding them hostage with a sharp object.
” Hands up ! Hands up ! Âğ One of the officers is heard screaming in a newly released clip of the harrowing encounter, which took place on the evening of March 1.
Cauch responds by slamming the door, which is still slightly ajar, while all the lawmen’s weapons remain drawn.
Outside, the agents advance slowly, finally arriving within a few centimeters of the now closed door. âDenver Police!â Open the door!’ shouts the officer, under the eyes of his three colleagues with their service weapons brandished
the officers bring out a battering ram and begin trying to force their way inside.
The two closest officers, including the one filming, are then heard conversing with each other, eventually coming to the tentative conclusion that they were in the middle of a “barricaded subject situation.”
âIt looks like it was a theft,â adds the officer in charge of the filming, before ordering the suspect to open the door and lie down on the ground.
Then, after speaking with some of the other people there, one of the other officers tells them that there are two others in the room with the suspect.
The door, at this point, is locked and the film attendant begins trying to knock it down, with little success.
The police officer continues by asking for a key, while several other police officers arrive on the scene.
Instead of a key, the officers pull out a battering ram and begin trying to force their way inside.
After more than 20 attempts, the door finally begins to give way, after which the officer with the ram asks his colleagues if they are âreadyâ.
Footage from inside shows Cauch watching in panic as the door begins to lower, before trying to force it shut as officers enter.
After more than 20 attempts, the door finally begins to give way, with officers coming face to face with the suspect – seen here rushing in with a hostage in tow as the two fall into a computer chair.
Meanwhile, footage from inside shows Cauch watching in panic as the door begins to lower, threatening one of the men with a metal handle to pull out six-inch nails.
Once inside, two of the officers – the one who was filming and a woman armed with an assault rifle – began to open fire, unleashing a stream of bullets that DPD brass later put at 36.
Footage from both viewpoints is then cut away due to its graphic nature, but within seconds the suspect is seen lying on the floor of the back office.
Despite the barrage of bullets, neither he nor the other staff member – seen cowering in fear behind cardboard boxes as the bullets ripped through – were pinned, police said. State authorities are investigating the incident
Once inside, two of the officers – the one who was filming and a woman armed with an assault rifle – began to open fire, unleashing a stream of bullets that DPD brass later put at 36.
Just before the shots ring out, Cauch is seen desperately grabbing one of the hostages while holding the then-unidentified object to his neck, eventually rushing and falling into a computer chair with the worker.
Footage from both viewpoints then cuts away due to its graphic nature, but within seconds the suspect is seen lying on the floor of the back office.
The weapon that Cauch refused to let go was later identified as a six-inch metal handle for pulling a nail, police said – adding that the employee seen with the tool to his neck reported slight pain, but no serious injuries.
Despite the barrage of bullets, neither he nor the other staff member – seen cowering in fear behind cardboard boxes as the bullets ripped through – were pinned, police said.
All officers involved are now on modified duty, Denver Police Department Major Crimes Unit Chief Matt Clark added, noting that the ordeal was still under review.
His department released the footage Thursday, revealing that Cauch had carjacked a vehicle near Lakewood earlier in the day, before descending on the 7-Eleven.
The entire ordeal was over within half an hour, police said, revealing that Cauch arrived at the store around 7:30 p.m., only to be shot before 8 p.m.
The shooting is currently under investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Independent Monitor and Colorado State Patrol.
DailyMail.com has requested comment.