DENVER — The Denver Zoo is closing its doors seven hours early on Saturday ahead of a teen "takeover" event that's set to take place at City Park.
On Thursday, Denver7 learned that the zoo would be closing at 1 p.m. on Saturday instead of its traditional time at 8 p.m.
Denver
Denver Zoo closing early Saturday ahead of scheduled 'takeover' at City Park
On Friday, we followed up with zoo officials to learn more about their decision and what led to it.
“This is really based on our assessment, but it was certainly in cooperation and thanks to the Denver Police Department for helping us prepare,” said Jake Kubie, director of communications for the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.
Roughly 300 teens gathered at The Shops at Northfield last weekend for a similar event. According to the Denver Police Department, the group entered different businesses and "engaged in physical altercations among themselves."
Officers arrived to disperse the group in order to prevent "further escalation," according to Denver PD. Some teenagers broke into smaller groups, disturbing the area of Central Park Boulevard and 46th Street.
Kubie said that after being notified of the upcoming event by Denver PD, the Denver Conservation Alliance decided it was best to close early rather than stay open amid the event.
“We're a very unique organization, and now we're an 80-acre campus with 2,500 wild animals,” he said. “Everybody has different things they need to consider. We did what we felt was best for us. And if it turns out that we overreacted and it means we didn't need to close, that’s just fine.”
On Friday, Denver7 met the Enriquez family, who were visiting Denver from El Paso, Texas. They initially planned to buy tickets to the zoo for Saturday, but came one day early after learning about the closure on the zoo's website.
“I think it was a responsible decision on the zoo to keep everyone safe,” said Victoria Enriquez, alongside her husband and two kids.
To offset the closure, the Denver Zoo will open at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, instead of the usual 10 a.m. opening time for the general public and 8:30 a.m. for members.
The nearby Denver Museum of Nature & Science will remain open on Saturday. A spokesperson issued a statement, saying, "The Denver Museum of Nature & Science will be open on Saturday, June 28. Safety is our top priority, and we are working closely with Denver Police Department and Denver Parks & Recreation authorities to ensure people can safely access the Museum and enjoy their visit."
Following the event at The Shops at Northfield, Denver7 spoke with two community youth advocates, who called on the community to get involved in finding solutions to keep teens productive and out of mischief this summer.
“We blame the kids. We blame the parents. We blame organizations like mine, who are working with kids, for not doing enough. But I think we haven't blamed who really needs to be held accountable for this, and those are the policymakers," said Jason McBride, founder and executive director of McBride Impact, a nonprofit focused on youth programs. "These are the people who have removed funding from youth programs, especially for the summer youth employment programs, places for these kids to be and go and have fun, express themselves in the summer."
Denver7 also sat down with DPD Division Chief of Operations Rick Kyle to get answers about how police are responding. Kyle said DPD was aware of plans for the "takeover" at Northfield before it happened, and worked with mall security to respond.
"There's several that we've seen advertised, not just in Denver, but in other areas," Kyle told Denver7. "These events have the potential to be very dangerous. When groups are gathering with the intent to cause havoc, they can escalate into very dangerous situations that could cause injury or property damage. Any parents that are aware of their kids planning to participate in these, we highly recommend that they discourage such activities."
The division chief said his department is aware of future planned events.
"We have some plans in place for upcoming events that we think will be even more effective than what we had on Sunday," Kyle said, without sharing details in order to maintain "operational security."
- Hear more from Division Chief Rick Kyle in the video player below
