Mallory Davis and Jeremy Jojola

KUSA-TV, Denver

BAILEY, Colo. — Three deputies were shot, one fatally, as they tried to serve an eviction notice in this mountain community about 35 miles southwest of Denver, authorities said.

One of the two surviving deputies — no names have been released — has a life-threatening injury and was undergoing surgery Wednesday afternoon, said Susan Medina, spokeswoman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The other is expected to live.

The suspect, Martin Wirth, also was shot and killed in the 9:15 a.m. MT incident, according to Park County Sheriff's Office officials.

The deputies fired back, killing the gunman, officials said. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, which is assisting in the investigation, said Wirth used a rifle in his attack on the deputies.

Girl, 12, accidentally shot dead by cop during eviction confrontation

Wirth, 58, had been in a long legal battle to keep his two-story home on a large lot north of Bailey, according to court records and online posts. Wirth owned his home here until March 2014 when Fannie Mae took ownership, the Park County Assessor’s Office said.

Federal court records show Wirth attempted to sue Fannie Mae in 2013 but lost his case this past September.

Wirth ran for the state Senate in 2014 as a Green Party candidate but lost to an incumbent Republican.

Fatal eviction shootings highlight foreclosure concerns

He is described online an activist with the Occupy Denver movement who received support from the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition in 2014 when facing his eviction.

Sam Lung, who lives nearby, said he often hears gunshots in the area, which has a target-practice site.

People often shoot in their backyards and are “practicing their Second Amendment rights,” he said. He said he did not hear the gunshots Wednesday.

A bomb squad and federal Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials were called to the scene afterward as investigators combed through the house.

A decade ago in Bailey, a gunman took several girls hostage in a high school classroom, killing one of them before killing himself. Duane Morrison, 53, held the girls for nearly four hours and sexually assaulted them in September 2006.

He fatally shot Emily Keyes, 16, and then killed himself as SWAT team members stormed the classroom at Platte Canyon High School.

Contributing: Blair Shiff, KUSA-TV, Denver; The Associated Press. Follow Mallory Davis and Jeremy Jojola on Twitter: @mallory_davis87 and @jeremyjojola