Shooting at Colfax & Colorado tied to bicycle

Police say a man is in critical condition after being shot, during a confrontation over a bicycle, at one of Denver’s busiest bus stops.

A witness, who asked to remain unidentified, told Denver7 that he was on the 15 bus Saturday afternoon, as events unfolded at Colfax and Colorado.

“The (gunman) was sitting about two rows behind me,” he said. “I saw him get off the bus and walk toward the bike.”

The witness said he saw two men standing near the bike.

“When the man who got off the bus hopped on the bike, one of the men standing there walked up behind him, aggressively, and slammed him off the bike,” he said.

That’s when the witness saw the gun.

“As soon as the one who had just gotten thrown to the ground got back up, he pulled out a gun and shot about 4 or 5 times before he ran the other direction.”

The witness described the gunman as a young, Latino male.

“He couldn’t have weighed more than 130 pounds,” he said. “He looked like he was 17 maybe.”

When asked if he’d had any inkling that the young man was up to something when he was on the bus, the witness said, “No, I didn’t get that vibe at all.”

Another witness, who works nearby, said she heard four to five shots, looked up and saw a young Latino male running west.

“He looked back, grabbed his pants and kept running,” she said.

The second witness says she then saw the victim running toward a Conoco station on the northwest corner of the intersection.

“He was holding his chest near his shoulder and began panicking,” she said.  “He just dropped immediately. That’s when I started calling police.”

A third witness told Denver7 that he saw the suspect running toward an apartment building near 14^th and Garfield.

That witness questioned the 911 response time, saying it took 10 minutes to get ahold of a 911 operator.

“The first time I called, it went to a recording,” he said. “So, I hung up and dialed again. Same thing, it went to a recording.”

The witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said police might have captured the gunman had his call gone through.

But, his wasn’t the only call coming in. Others called to report the shooting as well.

When asked about the delay trying reach the 911 operator, DPD spokesman Tyrone Campbell said “I don’t have any answers about that.”

Late Saturday night, Campbell said the man who was shot, was taken to a nearby hospital and remains in critical condition.

Two witnesses said police told them they caught the suspect, but Campbell said, to his knowledge, no one has been arrested.

Neighbors stressed out

“It’s absolutely unnerving,” said EllenFay-Itzkowitz, who lives in the neighborhood. “It’s scary when it starts to feel like your neighborhood isn’t safe.”

This isn’t the first shooting in the area.

“Approximately three days ago, I was awakened around 4 in the morning, by a gunshot,” said Stefan Jansson, another neighbor. “It turned out to be a robbery attempt across the street.”