(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (DA’s Office) has completed its review of a deadly officer-involved shooting that happened overnight on Feb. 6, 2023, and has ruled the shooting justified.

According to the report, on Feb. 5, 2023, at around 7 p.m. officers of the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) were called to The Grove Apartments in the 3900 block of East Bijou Street for a 911 call made by a woman who said her neighbor was on the balcony of their apartment building with a long gun. The neighbor, identified as 44-year-old Evan Kendrick Wollert, was reportedly not threatening anyone, but was loading and unloading the firearm.

Officers arrived at the scene and contacted Wollert who they say was evasive and uncooperative. The report states officers did not have enough suspicion that a crime had been committed and left.

As officers were leaving, Wollert went to the reporting party’s apartment and began banging on their door. Officers yelled for Wollert to stop to which Wollert responded that officers were not going to kill him, that he had a weapon, and that he was Marine Corps and stated, “I killed men, women, children on this land and in other countries. I’ll kill them all!”

Officers believing that further contact would escalate the situation did not reengage but remained in the area in case they needed to immediately respond to Wollert.

About six hours after officers’ contact with Wollert, the reporting party called 911 saying her neighbor was pounding on her door again. Other calls to 911 reported a “man was yelling that he had a gun and that he had killed someone” and at least one reporting party told police that he had heard a gunshot.

Multiple officers responded to The Grove Apartments including a couple of the officers who had been there earlier. One officer who was in the area when 911 calls began reportedly heard a gunshot.

The report states that responding officers were advised of “shots fired” before they arrived.

When officers arrived they heard a man yelling, and during a tactical approach saw Wollert entering and leaving his second-floor apartment. Wollert then reportedly threatened to kill officers and their children.

Police repeated announcements that they were CSPD officers and for Wollert to come down with his hands up, and if he didn’t, they could not guarantee his safety.

Wollert entered and left his apartment again and appeared with a long gun, identified as a shotgun with a drum magazine in his hands. Officers gave multiple commands for Wollert to put the gun down.

Wollert came down the stairs and raised his gun at officers who were 25 yards away.

According to the report, Sergeant Aaron Lloyd and Officer Steven Nelson both fired one round from their handguns and Officer Stewart Smythe fired three rounds from his rifle. Wollert immediately collapsed and fell to the landing of the stairs.

Officers approached Wollert and began medical aid until paramedics arrived, however, Wollert died on the scene from his injuries.

In interviews with officers, the report states that officers gave multiple warnings for Wollert to drop the weapon and did not believe that less-than-lethal weapons could be used due to the distance between officers and Wollert. Officers also reported hearing a loud bang before shots were fired by officers and the report states a fired shotgun shell was found that was consistent with where Wollert was shot, however, there is no conclusive evidence as to when the shot was fired.

“After completing a thorough review of the facts and evidence, Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has determined the use of deadly physical force by CSPD Sergeant Aaron Lloyd, Officer Steven Nelson, and Officer Stewart Smythe was justified based on all of the facts and circumstances of this case under the law of the State Colorado,” the report writes.