An El Paso County Sheriff’s deputy who fired his weapon, in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who allegedly shot and killed Deputy Andrew Peery, has been identified.
Deputy Dan Carey has been placed on administrative leave per department policy, the sheriff’s office said in a Wednesday news release.
On Aug. 7, Peery was shot dead outside a home in the Security-Widefield area, in the 500 Block of Ponderosa Drive. Officers found the body of a woman in the home’s front yard.
John Paz, 33, fired at the deputies hitting Peery and Carey returned fire, according to the release. Fountain police and the Colorado State Patrol were also on scene.
“While the El Paso County Coroner’s Office will make the official cause and manner of death determinations for all three individuals, the deaths of Deputy Peery and the adult female are being investigated as homicides committed by John Paz,” the sheriff’s office said.
No Fountain officer or state trooper fired a weapon during the incident. Paz was found dead inside the home, “due to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office said.
Carey has been with the sheriff’s office since 2018 and is assigned to the patrol division.
The Colorado Springs Police Department is the lead investigative agency for the officer-involved shooting. CSPD will also investigative the shooting deaths of Peery and the woman found at the scene.
