Former Space Force Sergeant Fatally Shot Teen in 'Vigilante Violence,' Colorado Officials Say

A former U.S. Space Force sergeant fatally shot a 14-year-old and injured a 13-year-old in an act of “vigilante violence,” Colorado prosecutors say.

Orest Schur, 29, received a 54-year prison sentence after a jury in June found him guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder in the 2023 shooting, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in an Aug. 15 news release.

Space Force did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Aug. 19.

Attorney information for Schur was not immediately available.

“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead,” District Attorney Brian Mason said in the release. “The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants. A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions.”

Schur, a technical sergeant with Space Force in Aurora, was awakened by the blaring of his car alarm at about 11 p.m. July 5, 2023, prosecutors said.

Thinking someone was trying to steal his Hyundai Elantra, prosecutors said “Schur armed himself with a pistol and began driving around the block in the Elantra.”

As Schur circled the neighborhood, he spotted a car he thought to be “involved in the attempted theft,” prosecutors said.

Schur did not call police but instead chased the car, firing multiple rounds at its rear, prosecutors said.

Aurora police later found the car the teenagers had been driving, crashed into a home’s backyard fence, prosecutors said.

Officers found the car had been damaged by gunfire in multiple spots, including the trunk roof and rear windshield, and “investigators determined that one bullet had passed through the driver’s seat and into the driver’s back,” prosecutors said.

After the crash, the two teens ran from the car, as Schur continued shooting toward them, prosecutors said.

The 14-year-old passenger was hit by gunfire in his back and head as he ran, prosecutors said, adding that he was found unconscious not too far away and later died at a hospital.

Though the 13-year-old driver was shot in his back, he was able to reach a family member’s home, was taken to a hospital and survived his injuries, prosecutors said.

Schur said his actions were in self-defense in response to someone firing at him, prosecutors said.

However, “an extensive investigation found no evidence” that anyone, aside from Schur, carried or fired a gun, prosecutors said.

Forensic testing showed Schur fired 11 rounds in total, prosecutors said.

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