Two men were arrested Tuesday night after shots were fired at an unmarked police car in Aurora and their SUV plowed through fences, a tree and an electrical box.

Two undercover officers were near East First Avenue and Lansing Street about 9:45 p.m. when the suspects drove past them, eastbound on First Avenue, said Aurora police detective Shannon Lucy.

The undercover officers were scouting the area because its a known location for stolen vehicles, Lucy said.

As the officers attempted to get the SUV's license plate number, they heard gunshots directed at their vehicle. Police in marked patrol cars soon spotted the SUV eastbound on East Mississippi Avenue near I-225.

Officers tried to ram the SUV, which crashed through a wood fence into the backyard of a home at South Norfolk Street and East Mississippi Avenue.

Officers ordered the driver out of the SUV. Instead, he backed onto Mississippi, heading westbound in reverse, Lucy said.

A marked patrol car then came nose to nose with the SUV, which smashed into an electrical box, causing a small fire, toppled a tree into the roadway and slammed through another fence near South Kalispell Street, Lucy said.

The SUV driver, who police believe fired the gunshots, was identified as Manuel Adrian Diaz, 30. He is being held at the Aurora City Jail on two outstanding warrants and faces several charges in Tuesday night's incident, including attempted second-degree murder.

Investigators believe the suspect didn't realize he was shooting at police officers, Lucy said.

"He thought they were fellow bad guys," she said.

In the past eight months, Diaz had arrests in metro Denver on suspicion of aggravated auto theft, drug dealing and driving with a suspended license, according to state court records.

He also has a long record in Arizona, where he was arrested in 2005 for being a convicted felon in possession of guns. He awaits trial in federal court on that case.

The other man, 18-year-old Lorenzo Jesus Torres, is being held on two warrants for failing to appear in court.

Two young women riding in the SUV were questioned as witnesses and released.

Lucy said officers recovered a handgun in the backyard of the home on South Norfolk Street.

Two officers and Torres treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Barry Cape at 303-739-6947.