EVERGREEN — Crime scene tape, broken glass, and investigators surrounded a popular strip mall in Evergreen, one day after an active shooter fired more than a dozen shots inside a health care facility at the complex.
Still, a business in that strip mall opened their doors on Friday to provide a place of refuge for those in the community who needed it most.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) identified the shooter as 62-year-old Lance Black, a resident of Evergreen. Deputies responded to reports of gunshots at the CommonSpirit Primary Care office within five minutes, according to JCSO, where they discovered Black armed with a shotgun.
Black took his own life. No one else was injured in the incident.
JCSO reported that Black was a patient in the past at the health care facility, but his motive is still being investigated. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office tells Denver7 that in 2016, deputies made contact with Black for a mental health-related incident.
Those with JCSO said the shooting was contained inside of the CommonSpirit Primary Care office.
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Evergreen health care facility gunman had been a patient at the facility
Directly below the health care facility is Tuscany Tavern, a family-owned restaurant that has been there for more than two decades.
"The reason we're still here is because of the community, because they've embraced us over 25 years. And we feel so strongly that we give back to the community," said Rick Egloff, owner of Tuscany Tavern.
Egloff said he was driving to the restaurant on Thursday afternoon when he got a call about the active shooter at the strip mall. When he arrived, his family and employees had evacuated the restaurant.
"Disturbing. Traumatizing. The kids that were here and heard the shots and stuff like that — you can see it in their faces that it was like, 'Wow, what really just happened up here?'" Egloff explained.
The shooting at the strip mall comes less than six months after a 16-year-old Evergreen High School student shot and injured two of his peers before killing himself. The pain of that school shooting still lingers in the Evergreen community.
"Everybody is still on edge from the first one," Egloff said.
The Italian restaurant has a close relationship with the people working at CommonSpirit Primary Care, according to Egloff.
"We were at the police station, the fire station, last night giving statements. And the people from upstairs, doctors were hugging our staff, because a lot of our staff goes up there. That's their doctor," Egloff said. "It was so close to home. So close to home."
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While neighboring businesses closed on Friday, many dealing with shattered windows broken by law enforcement officers while searching the area, Tuscany Tavern decided to open their doors to anyone who needed a place to go.
Egloff explained they were not open for any reason related to business. Instead, they were open so the community could gather there.
A video sent to Denver7 on Friday evening showed a packed bar at the restaurant.
"That's the kind of community that we are so blessed to be involved in, and we are going to embrace that every chance we get. And this is one of those chances," Egloff said.
The Evergreen Resiliency Center is open through the weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., providing the opportunity for the community to connect with mental health professionals.
