DENVER — No suspects have been identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with a shooting at a southeast Denver nightclub where nine people were shot, and one of them died as a result.
While police work to piece together what happened, community leaders want to answer their own questions: how do they better understand why such violence is happening, and what can be done to prevent it?
“Sometimes we talk about shootings, and we talk about these types of tragedies as if it's par for the course, but this is horrible. It's horrendous," said Brother Jeff Fard, the executive director of Brother Jeff's Cultural Center. “It's a story of Ultra Lounge, but it's also a story of our community and our society. Until we pull together collectively to address it, sadly, this is going to continue.”
He has a podcast where no topic is off-limits, and he hosted his show at Ultra Lounge on Monday, just hours after the shooting there.
► Watch Colette Bordelon's report in the video below:
"One thing we won't do is go away. One thing we won't do is yield our public spaces to a few that would terrorize us," said Fard.
Fard continued to say he is disappointed that the shooting paints the community in a negative light.
"What is not being said about this situation is it's a mass shooting," said Fard. “The reason I use [the term] mass shooting is because I want the same level of response and resources to pour into our community that pours into other communities when tragedies like this take place.”
Crime
Southeast Denver community grapples with aftermath of nightclub shooting
Fard said there is a gathering planned at Ultra Lounge on Monday, July 27, at 2 p.m. intended to spark honest conversations about violence in the community.
“When something like this takes place, we all pull in like we're the problem. Actually, we're the solution," Fard said. "How can we reach out to individuals who are going in the wrong direction and pull them into this thing we call community? Because as long as we isolate individuals, they will feel emboldened to make their presence felt without regard for any of us."
Meanwhile, the CEO of The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, MiDian Shofner, is planning another community gathering in Five Points in the next few weeks.
"Right now, we have to admit that we don't have the answer, but we can also recognize that collectively, we can each be a part of the solution," said Shofner. "If you have been in a situation where you may be living in hindsight because you caused violence, we want to love on you, and we want to talk to you. Because ultimately, we got to find out what this is, y'all, and we can only do that if we have an honest conversation.”
Shofner is inviting members of the community for another opportunity to discuss the cause and potential solutions to such violence on Aug. 22 at 2900 Welton Street starting at 1 p.m.
