Slain Colorado deputy identified

Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm, 31, had been a member of the department for five years, Sheriff Michael McIntosh said. The deputy was wearing a protective vest.

Authorities have a suspect in custody, officials said. McIntosh declined to release the suspect's name.

Deputies had been chasing the man in an "assault in progress" call about 7 p.m. (local time) when they followed him behind a home in Thornton, a city in the Denver metropolitan area.

When deputies approached the man, he pulled out a handgun, firing at them and hitting a deputy in the chest, said Adams County Special Deputy Amanda Overton.

McIntosh said Gumm was recently recognized for his work. A few weeks ago, a mother sent the sheriff's office a letter of gratitude about officer.

"She was moved so much by the level of service that deputy Gumm provided to her son that she took the time to reach out and make sure that we knew," McIntosh said. "You can imagine that over the course of the last five years, there's a lot of stories like this about Deputy Gumm."

Gumm leaves behind a wife, the sheriff said.

Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff on all public buildings, according to this office.

Authorities initially said they were looking for two others who may have been involved. But McIntosh said the two were involved in the initial disturbance, not the shooting.

Earlier this year, a deputy was shot and killed in another Denver suburb. Deputy Zackari Parrish died after a 37-year-old man barricaded himself in a bedroom and fired a rifle, striking several law enforcement officers, officials said.