Denver, CO – Security footage captured the moment when a man walked out of a hotel being used as an immigrant shelter and ambushed a Denver police officer as he was sitting in his patrol car earlier this month (video below).

The unprovoked attack occurred outside the Quality Inn hotel near North Zuni Street and Speer Boulevard at approximately 4 a.m. on June 7, The Denver Post reported.

The footage, which has no audio, showed the suspect calmly walking out of the hotel lobby while reaching into his coat.

He pulled out a gun as he walked towards the parked police vehicle, then abruptly opened fire on the officer through the passenger side window.

Despite being shot at least three times, the officer scrambled out his patrol vehicle and returned fire while the suspect rounded the front of the SUV and fired more rounds at him, Denver Police Department (DPD) Chief Ron Thomas said, according to KUSA.

“He was able to exit the vehicle on the driver’s side, seek cover and then begin returning fire,” Chief Thomas said. “There was then an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the officer. The officer continued to fire until the suspect went down.”

“Shots fired – I’m hit,” the wounded officer alerted over the radio a moment later. “Suspect I think is down. I need an ambulance. I’m still on my feet. I still got eyes on the suspect.”

The gunman was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

He has since been identified as Nicholas Lendrum, The Denver Gazette reported.

Investigators said Lendrum was carrying two handguns at the time of the attack, according to KDVR.

Lendrum fired off a total of 18 rounds from a Glock 26 9mm handgun, KMGH reported.

The officer fired 17 times.

“While inside the hotel, the male inquired about renting a room from the clerk before determining the cost was too high for him,” DPD Major Crimes Commander Matt Clark told KDVR. “He walked out of the hotel through the same main doors where the officer was previously parked and approached the officer’s vehicle and discharged his firearm multiple times.”

The injured officer was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center, where doctors determined his wounds were non-life threatening, The Denver Post reported.

He had been shot once in the chest and twice in the back, according to The Denver Gazette.

Chief Thomas said the unnamed officer “is in some significant discomfort,” but that his ballistic vest stopped the rounds from causing more damage, The Denver Post reported.

“I think it saved this officer’s life,” the chief said, according to WUSA. “I think that he would say the very same thing.”

The wounded hero has been with the DPD for 15 years, The Denver Gazette reported.

The motive for the unprovoked attack on the officer is unclear.

“Nobody’s been able to give us a reason for him ambushing the officer that day,” Commander Clark said, according to KMGH. “We have not been able to determine what led to the shooting.”

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Colorado State Patrol, and Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor, The Denver Gazette reported.

Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:

Denver cop ambushed. The key takeaway from the video and reason he lived IMO is because he got out of his vehicle. #ambush #cops #lawenforcement pic.twitter.com/KwIJWgQaBL

— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) June 23, 2023