Gunman Martin Wirth also died in the shootout with Park County sheriff's deputies at Bailey 
 
 BAILEY — A political activist opened fire on Park County sheriff's deputies trying to evict him from his mountain home Wednesday, killing one deputy and wounding two others. The gunman also died. 
 
 The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. at the secluded Friendship Ranch subdivision, said Susan Medina, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman. 
 
 "It is a dark day," Medina said. 
 
 The deputy who died, Cpl. Nate Carrigan, was a 13-year veteran of the Park County Sheriff's Office and a beloved high school baseball and football coach. 
 
 Carrigan became the first deputy killed in the line of duty at the sheriff's office, officials said. 
 
 The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. at the Friendship Ranch subdivision, said Susan Medina, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post) 
 
 Master Patrol Deputy Kolby Martin, an 11-year veteran of the office, was shot multiple times in the lower extremities and was in critical condition at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. 
 
 Capt. Mark Hancock, a 21-year veteran of the office, was shot in the ear but was treated and released. 
 
 READ: Slain deputy was a beloved high school coach. 
 
 Eight members of the sheriff's office — including Sheriff Fred Wegener — converged on the snow-covered, three-acre property on Iris Drive Wednesday morning for what they termed "a high-risk writ of restitution." 
 
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 They were seeking to evict Martin Wirth, a 58-year-old Occupy Denver activist and former Green Party candidate for state Senate who had complained previously about law enforcement harassment. 
 
 Property records show Wirth defaulted on the property in 2013 and has been battling foreclosure and eviction. 
 
 "Wirth came out on his deck paused and then went back inside," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Officers quickly followed Wirth inside the residence. As they entered Wirth fired upon them. Officers returned fire." 
 
 Wirth was armed with a rifle, the sheriff's office said. 
 
 Neighbors in the heavily wooded, quiet subdivision said they heard a volley of quick shots. 
 
 Susana Gibson's dogs were barking, and then she heard shots. 
 
 "It was, 'Pop! Pop! Pop!'" she said. "And then a few minutes later I heard, 'Boom! Boom!'" 
 
 READ: Martin Wirth was an Occupy Denver activist 
 
 In a Facebook posting in January, Wirth said he had clashed with police before and "one cop repeatedly punched my face and knocked out two of my teeth after others piled on. This was after aiming loaded pistols while screaming threats at me." 
 
 Wirth also said: "Because I ran for State Senate, I am a high value target ... they want me dead." 
 
 A website for the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition had posted a notice in 2014 that Wirth faced eviction and urged people to go to the home to support him. 
 
 "We are now calling for a non-violent eviction resistance at Martin's," said a statement on the group's website. "(Wirth) has been an invaluable part of Occupy Denver from the very early days, he has sheltered people on several occasions as well as hosting the Occupy retreat. His property is an amazing mountain escape with lots of room for tents and camping." 
 
 Later, Occupy Denver revoked its support for Wirth, saying in a Facebook posting that it "cannot in good conscience as an organization support the tactics he is proposing." 
 
 Occupy Denver posted a Facebook statement Wednesday that said: "We are sorry to share that Martin Wirth, so long active working to end fraudulent foreclosures and evictions, is reported to have died in a shootout with police this morning in Bailey Colorado. Martin recently shared with friends that he was experiencing harassment by the police." 
 
 Wirth had several run-ins with the law. In 1994 he was arrested in the shooting death of another man after becoming upset during a chess game. He was later acquitted. 
 
 Terry Rogers, Wirth's neighbor and a pastor in Bailey, said people knew Wirth as having strong anti-government views. He heard about Wirth's involvement in groups that supported that cause. 
 
 Sheriff's deputies would periodically be at Wirth's house, Rogers said, and one time he fought with the county about code violations for the number of animals he had on his property. 
 
 "He was kind of a loner — a recluse," Rogers said. 
 
 Rogers said he interacted only occasionally with Wirth, like once when Wirth's goats got loose. 
 
 Federal, state and law enforcement officials from other counties came to Bailey to assist in the investigation. Officers in body armor and carrying long guns were behind police tape near the shooting scene. 
 
 "Right now what we can do as a community is come together," Medina said 
 
 Residents brought food and water to law enforcement officers at the scene. 
 
 At about 4 p.m., an ambulance escorted by several sheriff's vehicles left Bailey and headed toward Jefferson. 
 
 Jeff Scott owns the Crow Hill Cafe in Bailey and lives in Friendship Ranch. The neighborhood is typically quiet, he said. 
 
 "I usually hear horses making noise and livestock," Scott said. "Certainly not gunshots other than people doing target practice." 
 
 At about 6 p.m., people began congregating at the Platte Canyon Community Church in Bailey for a vigil. 
 
 "When you're from a small mountain community, you care," Chris Whetzel said, tears running down his face, before walking into the chapel. "When you live in the mountains, you have to take care of each other." 
 
 Inside the small church, community members — some of them in high school letter jackets and others in cowboy hats — packed in and gathered in hushed circles to mourn and remember. There was no planned service, but rather just a need to be with each other. 
 
 Mourners hugged and whispered words of encouragement. 
 
 "We'll be here as long as we need to be," Pastor Rogers told the group. 
 
 Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ehernandez 
 
 Staff researcher Vickie Makings contributed to this report. ||||| A suspect is dead after shooting three deputies -- one of which died and another who is in critical condition -- Wednesday morning in Bailey. 
 
 It happened at 9:48 a.m. on Wednesday when police say eight deputies were trying to serve a high-risk eviction notice at 36 Iris Drive. 
 
 The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Martin Wirth had been going through a lengthy eviction dispute over the property. 
 
 Police say Wirth came out to his deck, paused and then went back inside. Officers then followed him inside the residence. As they entered, police say Wirth fired at the officers. Officers returned fire, shooting Wirth, who died at the scene. 
 
 Corporal Nate Carrigan, who was with Park County Sheriff's Office for 13 years, was shot and died at the scene. 
 
 Susan Medina, spokeswoman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said Carrigan served his community "in a superior way" during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 “He made the ultimate sacrifice today in his service to that community,” Medina said. “And, as we go into the evenings and we are doing things with our families, we just ask that you keep Nate and his entire family in your thoughts." 
 
 Master Patrol Deputy Kolby Martin, who has 11 years experience with Park County, was shot multiple times in the lower extremities. Martin was taken into surgery at St. Anthony Hospital where he remains in critical condition. 
 
 Captain Mark Hancock, who has 21 years experience with the Park County Sheriff's Office, was grazed in the ear. He was taken to the hospital and was later released. 
 
 The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says Wirth used a rifle in the shooting. 
 
 The Colorado Fraternal Order of Police says there have now been 14 officers shot in the state in the past three months. 
 
 Three deputies shot, one killed in Bailey <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">One deputy has been killed and two other deputies were shot in Bailey, which is located in Park County.</span></p> 
 
 Copyright 2016 KUSA ||||| PARK COUNTY, Colo. - Three Park County sheriff's deputies were shot, one was killed, while serving a high-risk eviction notice to a Bailey man who had a contentious relationship with law enforcement. 
 
 “It is a dark day," said Susan Medina, spokeswoman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, who has taken the lead in the shooting investigation. 
 
 The man at the home at 36 Iris Drive, Martin Wirth, was armed with a rifle and opened fire on the deputies, according to Medina. 
 
 Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener had just arrived on scene just after 9:48 a.m. Wednesday when patrol officers were about to make contact with Wirth, the sheriff's office said. 
 
 "Wirth came out on his deck, paused and then went back inside. Officers quickly followed Wirth inside the residence. As they entered, Wirth fired upon them. Officers returned fire," Undersheriff Monte Gore explained in a news release. "Wirth was shot and killed by deputies returning fire." 
 
 The deputy who was shot and died at the scene was a 13-year veteran of the Park County Sheriff's Office. He was identified Wednesday afternoon as Nate Carrigan, who has coached football and baseball at Platte Canyon High School. 
 
 Master Patrol Deputy Kolby Martin, who has 11 years with Park County, was shot multiple times in the lower extremities, and Capt. Mark Hancock, who has 21 years with Park County, was grazed in the ear, the sheriff's office said. 
 
 Martin was airlifted to Saint Anthony’s Hospital in Denver with life-threatening injuries and Hancock was also transported by ambulance to Saint Antony’s. Martin remains in critical condition and Hancock has been released, Medina said in an afternoon news conference. 
 
 -- Suspect Martin Wirth known to authorities -- 
 
 Wirth's body remained outside the home, in the snow, hours after the shootout, as investigators combed through the crime scene. (See photo below.) 
 
 The CBI said it will be at the crime scene all evening, conducting interviews and canvassing the neighborhood. 
 
 Wirth had previously run for office and had been fighting foreclosure for years. He recently posted on Facebook that the cops wanted him dead. 
 
 When the deputies went to the home in the Friendship Ranch subdivision, they were prepared for the eviction to be contentious, and there were eight deputies on hand, Medina said. 
 
 The person in the home was known to authorities, and "they had background information on the suspect in this case," Medina said, but didn’t elaborate. 
 
 The bomb squad. the SWAT team and the ATF, were called to the shooting scene as a precaution but they were sent home later in the day. 
 
 During the initial response to the shootout, the Park County Sheriff's Office asked for help for all nearby law enforcement agencies. More than 100 law enforcement responded. 
 
 "I contacted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and requested that they take the lead in this ongoing investigation," Gore said. "The response from our brother and sister Law Enforcement agencies, and our community, is truly heartwarming and overwhelming. We do not require additional resources at this time." 
 
 -- Community asked to turn on lights -- 
 
 AIRTRACKER7 flew over the scene and showed a road block at Iris and Pine drives, near the Deer Creek Christian Camp. 
 
 Platte Canyon and Fitzsimmons Middle School were placed on lockdown, but that lockdown has been lifted. Deer Creek Elementary School remained on lockout for the day. 
 
 Park County said it will hold a vigil Wednesday night at Platte Canyon Community Church at 6 p.m. for the Park County deputies. The county also asked residents to turn on their porch lights Wednesday night for Corporal Nate Carrigan. 
 
 Community has dealt with tragedy 
 
 Park County has dealt with tragedy before. In September 2006, a gunman terrorized students and staff at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey. 
 
 The suspect took six girls hostage. He killed one of the hostages before turning the gun on himself. 
 
 That hostage, 16-year-old Emily Keyes, was able to send a text to her parents before she died. It said, "I love U guys." 
 
 Park County 
 
 Many people in the Denver metro area have driven through Park County on Highway 285. Park County includes the towns of Bailey and Fairplay. 
 
 Park County covers over 2,200 square miles and is larger than the state of Delaware. It stretches just over 50 miles from north to south and about 40 miles from east to west. The homes in Park County are on open land and are far apart from one another. 
 
 Second officer involved shooting in a week 
 
 This is the second officer-involved shooting Denver7 has covered in three days. On Monday, a Denver police officer was shot by a burglary suspect, who was later shot and killed by officers following a brief chase. 
 
 There have been 14 officers shot in Colorado in the last 3 months. Read more. 
 
 --------- Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines. 
 
 Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle. ||||| DENVER -- Authorities in suburban Denver were investigating what led a 37-year-old man to fire more than 100 rounds in his apartment on sheriff's deputies, killing one and injuring four others. Two civilians were also injured. The Douglas County coroner identified the suspect as Matthew Riehl. 
 
 A YouTube user named Matthew Riehl posted a YouTube video Dec. 13, saying he wanted to replace Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock and railing against the sheriff and other officers in profane, highly personal terms. 
 
 Douglas County Coroner confirms shooting suspect in #CopperCanyonOIS as Matthew Riehl DOB 9/09/80 (pictured). Investigation still ongoing and being investigated by @DA18th Critical Response Team. pic.twitter.com/H6wT0klSQv — DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) January 1, 2018 
 
 The incident began around 5:15 a.m. at Copper Canyon Apartments, a landscaped apartment complex in Highland Ranch, 16 miles south of Denver. 
 
 Authorities had left the home barely an hour earlier in response to a complaint of a "verbal disturbance" involving two men, the sheriff's office said. One of the men told them the suspect "was acting bizarre and might be having a mental breakdown" but the deputies found no evidence of a crime. 
 
 When deputies were called back, a man who had left came by to give them a key and granted permission to enter the home, leaving again before shots were fired. 
 
 "The suspect was just making a ton of noise and annoying everyone around him," Spurlock said. 
 
 Spurlock said deputies came under fire almost immediately and were shot "very, very quickly" after entering the apartment and trying to talk with the suspect, who was holed up inside a bedroom. 
 
 "They all went down almost within seconds of each other, so it was more of an ambush-type of attack on our officers," Spurlock said. "He knew we were coming and we obviously let him know that we were there." 
 
 The wounded deputies tried to pull the fallen officer, Zackari Parrish, out of the line of further gunfire but were unable to because of their own injuries and only managed to "crawl to safety," Spurlock said. 
 
 Four officers, including Parrish, were shot from a bedroom around 6 a.m., forcing the retreat. A SWAT team entered the apartment at about 7:30 a.m. in an exchange of gunfire that left the gunman dead and another officer injured. 
 
 Vira Cover, who lives in a building about 50 yards away from the shooting, was woken up by a phone call from her fiance, Steve Silknitter, who warned her about what was happening and urged her to stay inside. Soon afterward she said she heard about 15 to 20 very loud shots fired over about 30 seconds or a minute. She sat on the couch with her cats and called Silknitter back before turning on the television to try to find out more about what was happening. 
 
 "I couldn't believe this was happening in our backyard," she said. 
 
 Silknitter heard the shots fired too but from about a half mile away, stopped at a police roadblock as he tried to get back home from work. Then he said he saw police in tactical gear speed past him in a pickup truck. 
 
 Silknitter said he lived 2 miles away from the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado where 12 people were killed in a shooting in 2012. He said he never would have expected anything like this in his apartment complex, where the only noise you might normally hear is children running around upstairs. 
 
 "Where do I move to where I don't have to worry about someone shooting us?" asked Silknitter, who is now considering getting a concealed weapons permit. 
 
 The suspect was well-known to authorities in the Denver area but had no criminal record, said Spurlock, who declined to name him until his identity was confirmed. 
 
 Riehl said in his Dec. 13 YouTube video, called "Fire Sheriff Spurlock," that he would run as a libertarian, ending with holiday greetings and a vow to "fire all these bums come early next year." 
 
 Riehl is vague about his political beliefs and personal grievances, though his animosity clearly ran deep. He flashes the business card of an officer who, he says, shows up at homes after sunset with an attractive woman and "will then ambush you from behind the door." 
 
 A video posted on Nov. 28 shows a traffic stop by a police officer in the city of Lone Tree - apparently taken inside the officer's car - that Riehl said was done illegally. He alleges the officer clocked the wrong driver, identifying the officer by name in the video and calling him "dirty." 
 
 "Scumbag, dirtbag, liar," he says as the officer questions the driver. "He's the boss, huh? He's the Nazi in charge with the stripes on his shoulder and the fake badge." 
 
 The sheriff did not release any details about the weapons and ammunition used except to say the suspect had a rifle. He also did not know if law enforcement had any prior knowledge of firearms being in the home but the possibility always weighs on deputies' minds. 
 
 "We respond to every call anticipating that everyone has a gun. This is Colorado. Everybody has a gun," Spurlock said. 
 
 Parrish, the slain officer, was 29 and a married father of two young children. He came to the department seven months ago after working as an officer for the nearby Castle Rock Police Department. Spurlock called him a "good kid" who was eager to work. 
 
 "His wife told me today that he loved this job more than he had loved any job he ever had," the sheriff said. 
 
 A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family of Deputy Parrish. Officials with GoFundMe confirmed to CBS Denver that they are working with the organizer, Tyler Scott, all the money will go to the family. 
 
 Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered flags on all public buildings immediately lowered to half-staff until Tuesday evening in Parrish's honor. 
 
 The three deputies and one police officer injured were listed in stable condition. Authorities identified them as deputies Michael Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Castle Rock police officer Tom O'Donnell, 41. 
 
 The two civilian injuries were not life-threatening. 
 
 Pelle is the son of Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle. The sheriff shared a picture of him and two other family members by his son's hospital bed on his office Twitter account. All four, including Jeffrey Pelle, who underwent surgery, are smiling and giving a thumbs-up gesture. 
 
 President Donald Trump expressed sorrow on Twitter. 
 
 My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @DCSheriff, and their families. We love our police and law enforcement - God Bless them all! #LESM — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 
 
 The shooting occurred on the final day of a year that saw the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history in Las Vegas.
– One sheriff's deputy was killed and two others were injured during a shooting in the "picturesque town" of Bailey, Colorado, on Wednesday morning, the AP reports. The suspect was also killed by deputies returning fire, the Denver Channel reports. One of the deputies who was shot has life-threatening injuries, according to the Denver Post. 9News identified the deceased deputy as Nate Carrigan, who had been with the Park County Sheriff's Office for 12 years. A Colorado Bureau of Investigation spokesperson says the resident of the home, Martin Wirth, was armed with a rifle and attacked the deputies. The Post says Wirth was an Occupy Denver activist who faced foreclosure after defaulting on the house in 2013, and notes that the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition had called for a "non-violent eviction resistance" for Wirth, who "has been an invaluable part of Occupy Denver from the very early days." Wirth also ran for Colorado senate in 2014—the same year Fannie Mae took control of his home—as a member of the Green Party, losing to a Republican incumbent.