Two dead in Fort Collins shooting
A 73-year-old man and his 26-year-old grandson are dead in a reported murder-suicide in southwest Fort Collins.
UPDATED STORY: Details in Fort Collins shooting case
Fort Collins police and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the shooting incident in the city's southwest corner at 12:51 p.m. Thursday. An informant told police that her husband had shot a family member and then himself.
Upon arriving to the scene on the 6300 block of Thompson Drive, police confirmed that two males were found dead in a residence on the dead-end street northwest of the intersection of South Shields Street and Trilby Road.
The Larimer County Coroner's Office on Thursday afternoon identified the men as 73-year-old Gene Kapperman and 26-year-old Brandon Kapperman. Both are from Fort Collins, and multiple friends and family members along with emergency communications say Gene was Brandon's grandfather.
MORE:Friends react after Fort Collins shooting leaves two dead
Records also indicate Brandon's middle name was Gene.
Brandon was not married, according to his Facebook page. It is believed that Gene shot Brandon and then himself, based on emergency communications. There was no ongoing risk to community safety, police said.
The Larimer County coroner will determine the official causes and manners of death after the autopsies, which are scheduled for Friday. At that point, police are expected to release additional information about how events transpired leading up to the shooting.
Neighbor Cheryl Frosh called her neighborhood "about as quiet as they get," and said residents were known to go for walks together down the meandering dirt roads lined with 2-acre lots and horse stables.
A 12-year resident in the area, she said the neighborhood was home to a lot of older folks and just a few kids. When she heard sirens Thursday afternoon, her first thought was of someone having a medical emergency. Then she realized it was something bigger.
"More police cars kept showing up," she said, adding they didn't leave in any hurry.
She didn't know the Kappermans well, but she did recall seeing Gene at a recent ice cream social event in the community. She said they were longtime residents in the area and were "definitely outdoors people" who enjoyed fishing and hunting -- they even constructed a shooting range on the property years ago.
It has since been quieted as the property recently was annexed from the county, bringing it within Fort Collins' city limits.
Gene does not appear to have a recent criminal history in Colorado, according to court records. Brandon had a misdemeanor theft case dating back to 2012 and several charges of providing false information to a pawnbroker. He was on probation at the time of the shooting and was due in court next month.
Thursday's fatal shooting was a rarity in Fort Collins, where the most recent homicides have been stabbings.
Police said there were no homicides within Fort Collins city limits in 2013. There was a homicide in the 2900 block of East Mulberry Street last year that left 65-year-old Kenneth Sobrero dead. His 59-year-old roommate stabbed him, and officials later ruled he acted in self-defense.
The year prior, there were two Fort Collins murders. Nicole Ryan slashed Ray Wimmer's throat Oct. 5, 2012, in the 400 block of North Meldrum Street. In February 2012, a man stabbed his brother near the intersection of Drake Road and Shields Street.
The last shooting incident in the city happened June 5, when a city police officer shot Richard Ivey, 53, who police said was waving a knife outside of Poudre Valley Hospital. Ivey survived and faces charges of felony menacing. The officer's use of force later was ruled justifiable.
RECENT CRIME:
Man shot by police back in hospital; court case stalls
Bike vs. SUV crash seriously injures man in Fort Collins
70-year-old killed in Wednesday Fort Collins crash
Windsor police arrest 9 teens in vehicle break-ins
Man, 21, jailed after Old Town birthday fight
Man impersonates police officer, bites deputy, authorities say