Indian American Physician Rupesh Jain Arrested in Connection With Shooting Spree in Colorado
- The 52-year-old reportedly told police that he had been planning to kill himself and that he had attempted suicide before.
An Indian American plastic surgeon is the prime suspect in a Sept. 15 shooting spree in Colorado. Dr. Rupesh Jain, 52, is accused of allegedly “firing gunshots at multiple locations, which damaged several businesses, and sent his neighbor to prison,” KRDO News reported.
According to the Denver Gazette, Jain, who “shot up his own apartment,” was on “a mental health hold” at the El Paso County jail. He faces several felony and misdemeanor charges including illegal discharge of a firearm, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
Police told local media that the Sept. 16 shooting spree “began with a gunshot injury to a resident at the Volta at Voyager apartment complex, followed by attacks on two KeyBank branches and a Village Inn.” Citing the arrest affidavit KRDO News reported that Colorado Springs Police officers originally received a call at 6:15 a.m. from a woman who said her friend had been shot through a wall. Once officers arrived on the scene they found Laken Duerschmidt, 25, with a gunshot wound in his right forearm. Duerschmidt was treated at a nearby hospital and is expected to recover.
In addition to the gunshot wound to his neighbor, Jain’s shooting rampage caused “more than $100,000 in damages, including the destruction of two ATMs,” police told The Denver Gazette.
Police note in the arrest affidavit that Jain also threatened to shoot up a Key Bank location on Hartsel Drive back in July of this year. At that time the bank staff declined to press charges.
Jain was later arrested at his apartment about an hour after the initial shooting. He told officers that he had been planning to kill himself and that he had attempted suicide before. He reportedly asked one of the arresting officers to shoot him.
Authorities are still investigating the motives behind the incidents. He is being held on $500,000 bail, The Denver Gazette said, citing arrest records.
Jain, who has over 28 years of experience in the medical field, is currently affiliated with the Institute of Plastic Surgery for the past 20 years, according to his LinkedIn page. He is affiliated with UC Health Memorial Hospital Central. He graduated from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 1995.
