Denver police seeking SUV used by suspects that allegedly shot 6 people, killing 1, near East Colfax
Denver police are investigating a shooting in the 1400 block of Verbena Street where they located six victims, the department said Tuesday afternoon.
Six people were shot and one was pronounced dead at the scene.
Denver Police Cmdr. Matt Clark said the deceased was a man and the other five victims comprised three men and two women. Three suspects are being sought by police, although investigators don't have clear enough footage to provide any description of them, Clark said.
Police got a Shotspotter alert, followed by multiple 911 calls regarding a shooting around 2 p.m. Investigators are urging people to avoid the area. Police don't yet have a description of the suspects, but Clark said investigators don't believe they're still in the area. They also don't have details as to a possible motive.
Verbena Street is closed from 14th to 16th Avenue and eastbound Colfax Avenue is closed from Uinta to Wabash. Westbound reopened around 4:30 p.m.
At a news conference, Clark said the area of the shooting is considered a "high-crime" area that already has a large presence of uniformed and undercover police officers.
"It's absolutely concerning that this happened in broad daylight," he said.
Clark said the suspects used a car to drive up to the scene, get out, fire multiple rounds from handguns, get back in the car and leave. They then left that car near 12th Avenue and Yosemite Street, where they got into another vehicle. Police released a photo of a black or dark-colored SUV they say the suspects got into after the shooting.
Graphic video from the immediate aftermath of the shooting shows a chaotic scene inside Michael Convenience Store, 8332 East Colfax Avenue, as well as outside, around the corner from the store.
Moments later, police officers arrive and assess the scene as another person can be heard still on the phone with 911, saying they need several ambulances.
In the video, multiple people can be heard screaming, either in pain or grief. Several minutes go by as people begin asking, "where the [expletive] is the ambulance?"
Two ambulances finally arrive and paramedics begin rendering aid before the video ends.
Several people try rendering aid to victims, one of whom appears to be in a wheelchair.
Kayla Rios was near the site of the shooting and told CBS News Colorado she heard six or seven gunshots.
"I just heard gunshots and, what's really crazy is, I just left from over there," she said. "I don't know what happened. I just know it's just crazy and I just wish the killing needs to stop. You can't even enjoy the fresh air, you can't go out to the store without worrying about losing your life."
After the shooting stopped, she said she ran to the scene and saw her friend lying on the ground.
One man who lives near the shooting said his roommate came home from the cleaners to see police cars near his house. He says his neighborhood has gone downhill over the past five years. He says he hears shootings in his neighborhood almost every night. On several occasions, he said people involved in these shootings have tossed guns into his yard.
".38, .45 [caliber], right over there," he said, pointing at his yard.
Tuesday's shooting happened just a few blocks from the deadly shooting of community activist Ma Kaing earlier this year.
