Denver cops shoot 7-Eleven robber 36 times in tense standoff after he stormed store with six-inch nail-pulling tool and took clerks hostage

Alarming footage shows the moment a fleet of cops unloaded 36 shots at a would-be robber during a hostage situation.

The incident took place this month at a Denver 7-Eleven, and saw 43-year-old suspect Christopher Cauch fatally gunned down.

Cops were called to the convenience store after Cauch took two of the clerks hostage, responding to reports of a robbery in progress and potential stabbing.

As they arrived, bodycam footage from one of the four shows them being directed by staffers to the backroom where Cauch was held up. 

Surveillance footage from the room showed how Cauch began holding a sharp object to one of the 7-Eleven workers' necks as the officers closed in. Thirty-six rounds within five seconds ensued, seeing the suspect meet a brutal end.

Alarming footage shows the moment a fleet of cops unloaded 36 shots at a would-be robber during a hostage situation at a 7-Eleven in Denver on March 1. The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Christopher Cauch, is seen here at left

As cops closed in, footage shows Cauch meeting a brutal end - shot in a hail of 36 bullets fired by at least two officers

'Put your hands up! Put your hands up!' one of the officers is heard shouting in a newly released clip of the harrowing encounter, which took place the evening of March 1.

Cauch responds by slamming the still-slightly ajar door shut, as all the lawmen's guns remain drawn.

The officer filming is then heard radioing his colleagues to tell them the suspect 'has a knife', all while Cauch appears to be holding the door closed with his body.

Simultaneous surveillance footage from the store, meanwhile, shows the situation inside - with Cauch seen holding the object to one of the staffers' necks while another cowers in fear.

From the footage, he appears to be attempting to force the door closed.

Outside, the officers slowly advance, eventually coming within a few inches of the now shut door.

'Denver police! Open the door!' the officer shouts, as his three colleagues look on with their service weapons brandished.

'Open the door!' one of the other peace officers exclaims - after which a muddled response can be heard from within the room.

The incident took place at this 7-Eleven on Federal Boulevard, where the suspect is said to have pulled up in a stolen car around 7:30pm

Arriving officers are then directed to a back office where the suspect was held up with two staffers, holding them as hostages with a sharp object

'Put your hands up! Put your hands up!' one of the officers is heard shouting in a newly released clip of the harrowing encounter, which took place the evening of March 1

Cauch responds by slamming the still-slightly ajar door shut, as all the lawmen's guns remain drawn.

Outside, the officers slowly advance, eventually coming within few inches of the now shut door. 'Denver police! Open the door!' the officer shouts, as his three colleagues look on with their service weapons brandished

the officers go on to produce a battering ram, and begin trying to force their way inside.

The two closest officers, including the one filming, are then heard conversing with each other, eventually coming to the tentative conclusion that they were in the midst of a 'barricaded subject situation.'

'Looks like it's a robbery,' the filming officer adds, before ordering the suspect to open the door and lay on the ground.

Then, after speaking with some of the others present, one of the other officers tells the two that there are two others inside the room with the suspect.

The door, at this point, is locked, and the filming officer begins to try to kick it down, with little success.

The officer goes on to ask for a key, as several other officers are seen arriving on the scene.

Instead of a key, the officers go on to produce a battering ram, and begin trying to force their way inside.

After more than 20 attempts, the door finally begins to give way, after which the officer with the ram asks his colleagues if 'they're ready.'

Footage from inside shows Cauch watching in panic as the door begins to come down, before trying to force it close again as the officers enter.

After more than 20 attempts, the door finally begins to give way, with officers coming face to face with the suspect - seen here scrambling with a hostage in tow as the two fall over a computer chair

Footage from inside, meanwhile, shows Cauch watching in panic as the door begins to come down, threatening one of the men with a six-inch metal nail-pulling shaft

Once inside, two of the officers - the one filming and a woman armed with an assault-style rife - begin to open fire, unleashing a stream of bullets DPD brass would later quantify as 36.

The footage from both vantages then cuts out due to its graphic nature, but within seconds, the suspect is seen lying on the back office floor.

Despite the barrage of bullets, neither he nor the other staffer - seen cowering in fear behind some boxes as the rounds rip - were stuck, cops said. State officials are vetting the incident

Once inside, two of the officers - the one filming and a woman armed with an assault-style rife - begin to open fire, unleashing a stream of bullets DPD brass would later quantify as 36.

Just before the shots ring out, Cauch is seen desperately grabbing one of the hostages while holding the-then unidentified object to his neck, eventually scrambling over and falling on a computer chair with the worker.

The footage from both vantages then cuts out due to its graphic nature, but within seconds, the suspect is seen lying on the back office floor.

The weapon Cauch refused to drop was later identified as a six-inch metal nail-pulling shaft, cops said - adding that the staffer seen with the tool to his neck reported some slight pain as a result, but no serious injuries.

Despite the barrage of bullets, neither he nor the other staffer - seen cowering in fear behind some boxes as the rounds rip - were stuck, cops said.

All the officers involved are now on modified duty, Denver Police Department Major Crimes Unit Chief Matt Clark added - noting that the ordeal was still being vetted.

His department released the footage on Thursday, revealing that Cauch had carjacked a vehicle in nearby Lakewood earlier in the day, before descending on the 7-Eleven.

The whole ordeal was over within a half-an-hour, cops said - revealing Cauch arrived at the store around 7:30pm, before being shot dead before 8pm.

The shooting is now being probed by by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Independent Monitor and Colorado State Patrol. 

DailyMail.com has reached out for comment.