A former Space Force sergeant, 29-year-old Orest Schur, will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2023 shooting of two teenagers who were apparently trying to steal his car. He ended up killing one of them, a 14-year-old boy.
Videos by Suggest
According to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado, Schur was sentenced to 54 years in prison on August 15, 2025. He had been found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder by an Adams County jury back on June 16, 2025.
“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead,” District Attorney Brian Mason said. “The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants. A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions.”
According to the DA’s office, the incident occurred on July 5, 2023. At around 11 p.m., Schur was awoken by his Hyundai Elantra’s car alarm. He suspected at the time that someone was trying to steal his vehicle, so he armed himself with a pistol.
Fatal Shooting
As per the Aurora Police Department, residents reported seeing two people dressed in all black “attempting to break into a Hyundai Elantra.” At the time, Schur confronted these individuals.
However, the two people, teenage boys, decided to flee in another vehicle, suspected to be stolen. While armed, Schur got into his Hyundai and pursued the teens, firing multiple shots into their vehicle’s rear. He didn’t call the police, as per the DA’s office.
Schur’s shots damaged the teen’s vehicle, including the trunk, roof, and rear windshield. The car eventually crashed into a home’s backyard fence. Both teens then fled the crashed vehicle, but Schur continued his pursuit and his firing.
At the scene, 14-year-old Xavier Daniel Kirk was found having suffered gunshot wounds to his back and head. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, the other teen, a 13-year-old boy, was shot in the back but managed to survive the shooting.
Schur initially claimed self-defense, saying that he had been shot at by the teens. However, an investigation found no evidence that the boys had any weapons with them.
Forensic testing found that Orest Schur fired a total of 11 shots during the incident. At the time, he was a Technical Sergeant at Aurora’s Buckley Space Force Base.