I’ve often watched divorced parents exchanging kids with their former spouses in a convenience store parking lot near my home and wondered how often fights occur during such transfers. While violent crime statistics don’t include figures on that particular occurrence, one such child transfer recently led to a Colorado man killing another man.

Investigators looking into the fatal shooting in the parking lot of a Woodland Park, Colorado, grocery store are leaning toward a determination that the shooter fired the fatal shots in self-defense. According to a report at Gazette.com, the shooting occurred on November 29 outside a City Market grocery store in Woodland Park after a physical altercation during a child custody exchange.

As the Colorado Bureau of Investigation explained, Luis Morales was making a custody exchange when he got into a physical confrontation with the boyfriend of the child’s mother. Witnesses told investigators that when the 28-year-old Morales threatened the other man with a knife, the boyfriend fired a single shot, striking Morales.

According to the Gazette.com report, Woodland Park police officers and bystanders gave first aid to Morales before he was transported to a Colorado Springs hospital, but he later died. According to the CBI, the shooter stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators on the case.

On December 18, the CBI issued a press release stating that the investigation would soon be coming to a close.

“The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has nearly completed its investigation into a fatal shooting at a City Market grocery store in Woodland Park on Friday, November 29, 2024,” the release stated. “Based on the evidence gathered so far, this appears likely to be a case of self-defense, but a final decision will be made by the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.”

Also, according to the press release, agents will be handing the case over to prosecutors soon to make the final determination of whether the shooter will be charged or not.

“The CBI agent leading this investigation expects to forward the case file to prosecutors by the end of the month,” the release stated. “In the meantime, CBI has been in contact with the family of shooting victim Luis Morales about what it can share during a pending investigation.”

Colorado law allows the use of deadly force in self-defense in certain circumstances, including if you reasonably believe you or another person is in imminent danger of death, great bodily injury, kidnapping, sexual assault or similar serious crimes.