Jacob Venderbeek, who was fatally shot after a long chase and an exchange of gunfire, was “quite, mellow,” a Leadville neighbor said. And his spree, which included tossing a hand grenade, has left police puzzled.

The 18-year-old Vanderbeek fired shots and hurled the grenade in Leadville early Saturday morning and then led them on an 80-mile chase through three counties.

Vanderbeek, a Leadville resident, was shot after he was stopped by Colorado State Patrol officers, said Betty Benson, spokeswoman for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re just not sure why he did this, and we may never know,” Benson said. “It’s very bizarre and very sad.”

Benson said Vanderbeek threw an army-grade grenade out of his vehicle near the intersection of 17th Street and Poplar Street in Leadville. Three nearby homes were evacuated early Saturday while authorities disposed of the device.

Investigators are unsure how Vanderbeek acquired the military-grade explosive, Benson said.

“He’s just a young kid,” said Vanderbeek’s neighbor Mary Tritz. “Very quiet, mellow. He’s polite. He waves. He has lots of friends. This is giving me the goose bumps. I’m blown away that he was the kid.”

Tritz said the youth has a little white Chevy.

A woman answering a phone at Vanderbeek’s house said she couldn’t comment yet and was planning to speak with Colorado Bureau of Investigation investigators.

None of the deputies or Colorado State Patrol troopers involved in the chase was struck by bullets or injured.

The chase began at about 5 a.m. in Leadville when a Lake County sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a driver for speeding, Benson said.

Instead, people said, the driver sped off through town, squealing around corners.

The suspect immediately began shooting at the deputy after he refused to pull over. He sped south on U.S. 24, going into Chaffee County, and on to U.S. 285.

The chase ran through Buena Vista and into Saguache County, Benson said. Vanderbeek allegedly fired at officers in Saguache and Chaffee counties as well.

State troopers managed to stop Vanderbeek’s car on the outskirts of Villa Grove, 26 miles south of Salida, she said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation were headed to the crash site, Benson said. U.S. 285 was closed at Colorado 17 for part of Saturday during the investigation.

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, facebook.com/kmitchelldp or twitter.com/kmitchelldp