'A Tremendous Tragedy': Senegalese Community In Mourning After Deadly Denver House Fire
DENVER (CBS4)- A day of mourning for the Senegalese community in Colorado on Thursday. Some 24 hours after a fire claimed the life of Djibril Diol and four of his family members, the Diol family welcomed visitors to grieve with them, including Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
"Obviously this is a tragedy. A tremendous tragedy," said Hancock. "We want to stand arm and arm with them. Make sure the crime is solved, but also to remind them that in Denver everyone is welcome."
In addition to the mayor, the Senegalese Consul General Elhadji Ndao flew to the home from New York to support the family and make sure they get justice.
"The instruction from the president of Senegal is to stop everything and come personally," said Ndao. "We have faith in the legal system and police work, but having your word of reassurance, speaking to the family and committing your office to making sure that this case will be looked at and those who are responsible for this horrible act will be brought to justice is something that is very important."
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After a national Muslim group made a plea Thursday morning that this fire and homicide be investigated as a hate crime, both officials said it's too early to tell if bias against this Muslim family was the motive, but promised no matter the cause the diol family will have justice.
"You'd better best believe that this is something that none of us in this city or this state or in this nation should stand for no matter what happened," said Hancock.
The surviving family members still need financial help from the community to bury their deceased loved ones. A GoFundMe campaign has been created for the Diol family.