Denver community leaders, families gather to heal ahead of Montbello Recreation Center reopening

More than 50 people in Denver attended a healing ceremony on Sunday to support the family of a 14-year-old who was killed and acknowledge the pain left behind after the shooting that claimed his life.

The May 21 shooting inside Montbello Recreation Center shook the north Denver community and resulted in an extended closure of the facility. Mikail Nasir Khalid Payne, known to loved ones as Nasir, was killed.

Community leaders, law enforcement representatives, grief counselors, youth advocates and residents came together on Sunday outside the rec center for the ceremony, which was centered on healing and support. Participants prayed quietly, reflected together and surrounded Nasir's mother with care. She did not speak publicly during the ceremony. At one point, healers washed her feet and placed their hands on her back as community members stood nearby.

"We just need her to know we're there," said healer Iyolade Osunyemi. "It's just about showing up, and sometimes it's just being quiet."

Osunyemi said healing is rarely straightforward and often requires communities to remain present long after public attention fades.

"You have to go through the ugly part of it. You have to go through the uncomfortable part of it," she said. "Sometimes that's not what's needed. Sometimes you just need somebody to hold your hand or wash your feet."

Police later arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting. Court records show he has been charged as a juvenile with first-degree assault, manslaughter, carrying a concealed weapon and juvenile possession of a handgun. Prosecutors have also filed violent juvenile offender sentence enhancers related to the use of a deadly weapon and death or serious bodily injury.

The ceremony came one day before the recreation center is scheduled to reopen.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas attended Sunday's event, saying he wanted to be present not only as the city's top law enforcement officer, but as a member of the community.

"Something terribly tragic happened here, something unimaginable happened here," Thomas said. "I think it is important for us to let that go and to understand that this is a place of safety, a place where community can come to heal and be safe."

Thomas said city leaders wanted to make sure staff and community members had access to support before reopening the facility.

"We understand that incident was traumatic," Thomas said. "We needed to make sure that their trauma was appropriately addressed before we opened it to the community, but we wanted to do it as quickly as humanly possible because we understand it's important for the community as well."

He said victim services and other support resources will continue to be available as people return to the center.

"We want to make sure that people come in and feel safe in this space," Thomas said. "Not an overbearing presence, but just a presence that makes people understand that this is a safe place and a place that the Denver Police Department and the City of Denver cares about tremendously."

Organizations that work closely with youth in Montbello said many young people remain anxious about returning.

"They're scared, they're anxious," said Elon Hodge Jones with the Struggle of Love Foundation. "This is a safe haven for them to go play sports, go work out, all these services that the rec offers."

Jones said the timing has been especially difficult because the shooting happened just as summer break began.

"A lot of kids were uncertain of what they're going to do for the whole summer," he said.

Community organizations plan to maintain a presence at the recreation center after it reopens, offering support and resources to families who may still be struggling.

"Give them love and give them support and let them know that they're not alone in this battle," Jones said.

For Osunyemi, one of the most important lessons from Sunday's gathering is that support cannot disappear once the headlines do.

"When it gets quiet, where is community?" she asked. "When it gets lonely, where is community? When I'm hungry because I just can't get out of bed and somebody needs to remind me to shower, where's community?"

She said consistency is one of the most important things grieving families need.

"It's bigger than a hashtag," Osunyemi said. "This is work."

Community leaders said Sunday's ceremony was not about erasing what happened inside the recreation center. Instead, it was about acknowledging the grief that remains, supporting those most impacted and reassuring families that they will not have to navigate that healing process alone.

The Montbello Recreation Center was scheduled to reopen Monday at 6 a.m. and resume normal business hours.