Gabriel Steven Garcia has been identified as the suspect who killed Lakewood cop , Nicholas ‘Nick’ Alan Graham , and injured three others on Thursday. The suspect was killed in the shootout which also left one civilian injured.
It also remains unknown why Broomfield released Garcia back to parole just two weeks before the tragic shootout. He got a year behind bars for this incident. It remains unknown why Garcia was listed as an absconder by the Colorado Department of Corrections, a term used when parolees don’t check in with parole.
Garcia, 34, has an extensive criminal record including a 2017 case where he reportedly attacked, punched, and tried to strangle an Adam County Sheriff’s deputy. Then, in 2019, he started to serve a 10-year jail sentence after he pled guilty to felony assault. Garcia was reportedly paroled then in December 2022. Again, in 2023, Garcia entered an apartment in Thornton and took a shower, for which he was reportedly charged with felony trespassing. The report noted that Garcia was again released on parole on September 23, 2026 and was listed as an absconder two days later. Then, on September 28, he was reportedly picked up by the Broomfield Police and kept in custody until October 20.
Hours later a Lakewood cop recognized the suspect getting aboard an RTD bus. When officers approached him, the suspect opened fire. Cops shot back, killing the man on the scene.
On Thursday, a hit-and-run suspect was involved in a crash which took place near Kipling and West 13th Avenue just before 3:45pm.
