Nine men and one woman, about half of whom are believed to be innocent bystanders, suffered gunshot wounds in downtown Denver just hours after the city celebrated the Nuggets’ historic win on Monday night.
Shots rang out around 12.30am Tuesday near the intersection of Market and 20th Streets -- a bar-filled area which was emptying after thousands congregated to cheer and set off fireworks in the wake of the NBA victory. One injured suspect, 22-year-old Ricardo Vazquez, took off running and was apprehended several blocks away before being transported to the hospital, officials said Tuesday at a press conference.
A firearm and fentanyl pills were recovered with him, and Vazquez remained hospitalized on Tuesday, police said.
Another uninjured suspect, 33-year-old Raoul Jones, was arrested after a firearm was found under the floorboards of a vehicle parked in a lot near the shooting, police said. The “vehicle occupants were believed to be involved in the shooting,” and “crime scene technicians also located a significant quantity of fentanyl pills in the area that were bundled in several bags,” police said Tuesday.
Detectives were working to determine which guns and people had fired weapons, but no Denver police officers discharged their guns, officials said at the press conference.
“It certainly does appear to have been a drug nexus,” Chief Ron Thomas said Tuesday. “There were quantities of cash, there was a large amount of drugs ... our strong belief is that this was completely unassociated to the celebrations.”
He said the “strong suspicion at this point is that five or six [of the victims] were completely innocent bystanders.”
Five people remained hospitalized Tuesday in fair condition, Denver Health trauma surgeon Dr Eric Campion said at the press conference.
Multiple firearms were discharged and at least 20 rounds were fired, police said; in addition to the gun found on the suspect who fled and the gun in the vehicle, three other firearms were also recovered following the incident.
Police exhibited HALO camera footage Tuesday that appeared to show shots being fired following an altercation.
Cleaning crews on Tuesday morning were power-washing blood from the streets in the area of the shooting, trails and pools of blood still visible across Market Street, the sidewalk and a parking lot.
Just two days before a planned parade in celebration of the Nuggets’ win, Denver authorities stressed that the vast majority -- tens of thousands -- of fans who turned out on Monday night had behaved peacefully.
The mass shooting came just hours after the Denver Nuggets took the city to its first ever NBA title when the team defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA finals.
The celebrations spilled out into the streets of the downtown area through the night, with local police closing down some of the area due to the crowds.
Crowds had largely thinned out by the time the shooting unfolded, around one mile from the Ball Arena where the Nuggets lifted the trophy.
Both suspects were being held Tuesday on investigation possession of a weapon by a previous offender, with Vazquez also facing the charge of possession of a controlled substance.
The investigation was ongoing, police said.
