Denver police fatally shot an armed man who was threatening a store clerk and had barricaded himself and two people in the back room of a 7-Eleven on Friday night, according to the police department.

Officers responded to reports of stabbing and possible robbery at a 7-Eleven near West Fifth Avenue and North Federal Boulevard at about 6:50 p.m., police Chief Ron Thomas said.

People leaving the store told officers something was happening inside, Thomas said, and officers identified the store clerk was “under duress” behind a door to the back room.

The door was locked, and the suspect inside did not follow commands to open it, Thomas said. Police heard an ongoing altercation in the room and used a battering ram to breach the door.

Officers found three men inside the room, one of whom had a hold on another man and “was threatening him with some sort of sharp instrument,” Thomas said.

“Officers recognized that person was in imminent danger and started to fire on that individual,” Thomas said.

After the suspect was down, police removed the victims from the room and began first aid on the man who was shot. He was taken to Denver Health, where he died, Thomas said.

The man was identified as Christopher Cauch, 43, by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner on Wednesday.

No one else was hurt in the incident, Thomas said.

The shooting will be investigated by the Denver Police Department, the State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

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