‘We Warned Them’: Denver Shop Owners Claim Police Were Called Before Fatal Celebration Turned Violent
Business owners at a Denver shopping center where a teenager was killed and three others were injured say they repeatedly asked for police help hours before a weekend celebration escalated into deadly violence. The shooting happened Saturday night along East Hampden Avenue during a large gathering tied to celebrations over the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to Denver police.
Several business owners told Fox31 they began calling police as early as 8:15 p.m. after hundreds of people flooded the parking lot, playing loud music and setting off fireworks. One plaza owner said he called five times before shots were fired, while a nearby food truck operator also reported contacting police ahead of the incident. Surveillance footage from a barber shop captured the first gunshot at 10:39 p.m., followed by roughly three minutes of continued gunfire that shattered windows and left shell casings scattered across the lot.
Denver police said officers did patrol the area twice earlier in the evening for disturbance complaints but noted there were no reports of weapons or violence at that time. Because of heavy call volumes and the nature of the initial complaints, the calls were treated as lower priority. Police acknowledged the frustration from business owners and said the department is reviewing its response protocols for large gatherings to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
