House Where Teen Was Shot to Death May Have Been Targeted
By Tom Mustin
DENVER (CBS4) - Crime scene investigators studied the home on West Dakota Avenue where a 15-year-girl lost her life early Wednesday morning.
"I feel like I'm not even going to let my daughter go outside to play. Not anymore," a neighbor CBS4's Tom Mustin.
Denver police say Wednesday around 3:15 a.m. a family of six had been sleeping inside when dozens of shots tore through the home.
The teenager had been sleeping near the front of the house and was killed. The gunfire woke up neighbor Fred Garcia.
"'Pow, pow, pow' … then it stopped for about three seconds. Then it was a 'pow, pow, pow, pow, pow," said Garcia.
Police are not sure if the killers were on foot or in a car, but the house appears to have been targeted.
"At this point we don't believe it's random based on the number of gun shots that struck the residence," said Cmdr. Barb Archer with the Denver Police Department.
Delsy Soltero says she's heartbroken after the death of her teenage neighbor.
"I'd seen her outside playing with her brothers and sisters. I hope they find the killer because this is really sad, because it's a little girl who died -- someone innocent," Soltero said.
Police say they had been called to the home twice before, but not for anything violent. Wednesday afternoon investigators canvassed the neighborhood searching for clues.
With no suspects in custody, Garcia gazed at the bullet-ridden home and spoke for her fellow neighbors.
"All neighbors are not safe anymore. I mean, it's sad. Things that are happening -- it's very sad," Garcia said.
Additional Information From The Denver Police Department
Remain anonymous and earn up to $2,000. Call Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-STOP (7867). Text to CRIMES (274637) then title DMCS and enter the message, or send an e-mail to metro-denvercrimestoppers.com; or use the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers mobile app which is immediately available as a free download on smartphones.
Tom Mustin is CBS4's Weekend Anchor. He has been with CBS4 since 2002, and is always looking for great story ideas. Connect with Tom on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @TomCBS4.