Denver shooting investigation: More than 20 gunshots were fired into crowd celebrating Nuggets
Five people remained in the hospital a day after a shooting during the wild overnight Denver Nuggets championship celebration in the Lower Downtown neighborhood. Denver police believe the shooting very early Tuesday morning was not related to the Nuggets celebration, instead it was related to a drug deal.
Police say more than 20 gunshots were fired into the crowd of celebrating Nuggets fans at the intersection of 20th and Market Street, following the team's championship victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Scott D'Angelo was live streaming while walking through that LoDo intersection -- which was the epicenter of that celebration, and caught the moment shots rang out on video.
"I'm still like trying to process everything," he said.
D'Angelo came down onto the street only after police had started to clear the crowds, thinking it would be safer.
With significant hearing loss, he says, at first he wasn't sure what the popping noise was he was hearing.
"I was right there but I couldn't hear anything, and I didn't even flinch because I thought it was pack of 25 Black Cat fireworks going off," he said.
When officers hit the ground in front him, drawing their weapons almost simultaneously, he knew it was something much more serious. His response and the terror of that moment was captured on his video.
"I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything," he says in a frantic voice in the video.
Juan Romero and his cousin Alex Romero were also in the crowd at the time, they say there was no hesitation on their part: to get out of the area once those shots rang out.
"You just say okay, time to leave, Walk the opposite direction and get to the car as fast as you can," Juan said.
"I told my cousin 'Oh nah, we got to go, this is not, it's not safe anymore,'" Alex said.
Ten people were injured, including the alleged shooter. Police found at least five guns, and bags of fentanyl pills at the scene. On Wednesday morning there were four patients at the hospital in serious condition and one was in fair condition.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas says they couldn't have planned for a drug deal to happen right in the middle of a celebration for an NBA championship.
"Our strong belief is this was completely unassociated to the celebration," he said during a news conference Tuesday morning.
D'Angelo, who lives just a few blocks from the chaos, says this type of violence is unfortunate not just for his neighborhood but for the entire city.
"For me it's very concerning," he said.
Denver police arrested two people, but say the investigation is ongoing and that more arrests could be made.
