An Aurora police officer shot a man Monday after following him into Denver near a cluster of motels along East Colfax Avenue, shutting down traffic on the busy thoroughfare and causing tension in the ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Denver police deputy chief Matt Murray said the incident began with a shooting at 1:39 p.m. in the 1900 block of Akron Street in Aurora.

Aurora officers determined someone connected to that shooting was near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and Wabash Street in Denver, which is less than a mile from the shooting scene in Aurora.

A short foot chase began. The unidentified Aurora officer fired his gun, striking the suspect, Murray said.

The suspect was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition, Murray said. No officers were injured.

Aurora police had notified Denver when they crossed jurisdictions, Murray said.

Murray said it was unknown whether the man was armed.

However, Arika Graham, who was outside the Sand & Sage Motel, where the shooting happened, said she saw the man pull a gun while running. He dropped the gun and was shot, she said.

“I don’t know if he was pulling it out to throw it away or pulling it out to use it,” Graham said.

Afterward, a black pistol was lying in the motel’s courtyard. Police tape surrounded the motel, and tape was strung across the door of one room at the motel.

Crystal McCoy, a spokeswoman for the Aurora Police Department, said no one was killed or injured in the Akron Street shooting.

People in the neighborhood near the Denver motel were visibly upset over another police shooting.

Some cried. Some yelled and swore at the police and media. Protesters arrived with posters and stood on a corner across from the motel as onlookers drove slowly by the scene.

Claudine McCullough held her 3-year-old grandson’s hand as she prayed for the shooting victim and his family while standing on a corner near the motel.

“I know the pain,” McCullough said.

Carmella Yelverton shed tears as she questioned whether the shooting was necessary.

“I’m asking every Aurora, Denver — every — police officer to stop and think before you shoot,” Yelverton said.

Monday’s shooting was the fourth involving a police officer this year in Denver.

In April, a Denver police SWAT officer shot and killed 40-year-old Dion Damon near Civic Center. Police were serving a warrant on a bank robbery charge to Damon, who was not armed.

In 2015, 13 people were shot by police in Denver; six died.

Monday’s shooting will be investigated by Denver police, and it will be up to District Attorney Mitch Morrissey to decide whether criminal charges should be brought against the officer.

Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or @Noelle_Phillips