Police look for link in I-25 shooting, shattered windows

Northern Colorado law enforcement agencies are investigating whether the Wednesday shooting of a woman traveling Interstate 25 near Fort Collins is tied to three recent reports of shattered windows.

NEW STORY WITH UPDATES: Task force: No links between shootings, broken windows

A 20-year-old Milliken woman was hospitalized after she was shot in the neck Wednesday while driving I-25 between Fort Collins and Windsor. On Thursday, two Weld County men reported windows in their vehicles were shattered by what may have been gun shots in separate incidents near Hudson and in Loveland.

Authorities are also working to determine if the incidents are linked to a a Tuesday incident when a passenger window of a Larimer County jail transport was shattered by a projectile while traveling I-25 near Mead.

By Thursday afternoon, agencies had not announced any known links among the incidents.

The late-Wednesday attack on the Milliken woman appears to be random, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith told the Coloradoan Thursday. Smith said drivers should "be aware" and report any suspicious behavior they see near area roads.

LCSO identified a potential suspect vehicle as a "dark-colored SUV." No suspects were identified as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

The woman was able to safely steer her vehicle to the side of the road and call 911 after she was shot. She was doing well Thursday, Smith said.

"There's a lot more leg work that needs to be done on this case," Smith said. "It's hard because at this point we have no indication that this person was targeted by a person looking for her. She appears to be the victim of a random act."

"Right now we have many more questions than answers," he said. "I would caution people to not over-react, but they need to know this (shooting) occurred."

News of the I-25 shooting preceded that of two other similar incidents in Northern Colorado.

The Weld County Sheriff's Office notified the public Thursday about a possible vehicle shooting that took place near Hudson — about 34 miles southeast of the I-25 shooting.

At about 12:10 p.m. Thursday, a 46-year-old Johnstown man was traveling south on Weld County Road 49 — between WCR 24 and WCR 26 — when the front driver's-side window of his vehicle shattered. The man was uninjured, but he believes the window may have been "shot out," according to WCSO.

Later Thursday, Loveland police announced their investigation of a possible vehicle shooting that took place about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of U.S. Highway 34 and Cleveland Ave. A 21 year-old Greeley man heard a "pop" and his rear window was shattered while he drove east on East Eisenhower Boulevard (U.S. 34) near North Cleveland Avenue.

The uninjured man drove to Greeley before notifying Loveland police, a news release said.

Weld deputies, Loveland police and LCSO are looking in to each of the four incident to see if they were the result of a gun shots or are in any way connected. The unidentified Milliken woman was the only reported injury.

Shortly after 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, she was struck in the neck by a bullet that shattered her driver-side window. The woman was alone in the vehicle and taken to a local hospital, LCSO said.

The injured woman's identity, vehicle type and type of ammunition she was struck with weren't released Thursday. The shooting doesn't appear to be related to road-rage, Smith said.

The last shooting incident reported along I-25 in Larimer County happened in June 2014, when an unidentified suspect attempted to shoot an officer at the port of entry in Fort Collins, but his gun did not fire. The suspect left the scene in a white semi-trailer.

Anyone with information regarding the I-25 shooting or any crime is asked to call Larimer County Sheriff's Office at 970-416-1985 or Crime Stoppers at 970-221-6868. You will remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a cash reward.

Mobile users, view the approximate vehicle window shattering locations map here.

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Growth & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached at 970-224-7835 or Twitter.com/adriandgarcia.