DENVER – Four people were killed, and several others were injured, in a spate of shootings and a stabbing in Denver and Arvada Thursday and Friday.
Early Thursday, a man was stabbed near 20th and Broadway and hospitalized with what police called serious injuries. Additionally, a person was shot in the 10700 block of E. Dartmouth Ave. and was taken to a hospital. Denver police have not said anyone has been arrested in either case.
On Thursday afternoon, three people were hospitalized after a shooting in the 3600 block of Morrison Road in the Westwood neighborhood. Denver police said Friday morning that two of the people had died. The other person remains hospitalized, and one person has been arrested, according to police.
The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the two men killed as Epimeno Martinez, 33, and Michael Vance, 28.
Noe Bermudez, who runs Kahlo’s Mexico Restaurant on Morrison Road, close to where the shooting occurred said crime in the area, which is one of five high-crime areas being targeted by police for changes, is on the increase.
“We want to make sure my customers are safe and try to enjoy this neighborhood too. We are working hard to impact it in a good way, so definitely, we have more work to do,” he said.
Bermudez said Denver police came right away after Thursday’s shooting.
“Denver is a big city, so we need to cooperate with them … because they’re the ones who protect us. So, I think Denver police – any support they need, we need to do something for them,” he said.
“I find it’s a shared responsibility on the part of the city. It’s not just the police that need to go in there and do work,” said DPD Division Chief Ron Thomas. “I think that the city has a responsibility to kind of join us and do things that are necessary to improve these locations.”
Thomas said there are naturally reasons for concern with the increase in crime — homicides in the city were at their highest levels in 20 years last year — but he believes the city and department will put in the effort to turn that around.
“Certainly, there’s some violent activity that occurs there that we still need to address, but I do think we’re headed in the right direction,” he said.
In Arvada Thursday evening, two people were shot in an exchange of gunfire near the Secrest Recreation Center during a vigil, which police are still investigating, Arvada Police Det. David Snelling said Friday morning. Police believe over 30 rounds were fired in the shooting.
Shortly after midnight Friday, Denver police said two people had been shot near E. Colfax Ave. and Verbena Street. Police said the extent of their injuries was unclear and no one had been arrested.
Just after 1 a.m., police said one man had been shot near the intersection of Park Ave. and Curtis Street in Denver. By 9 a.m., that man had died, and police said one other man had been hospitalized in the shooting. The man who died was identified as Tevon Horton-King, 29.
And just before 3:30 a.m. Friday, police said a woman was stabbed near Steele Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and taken to a hospital. Denver police said later Friday morning the woman had died and that a man had been arrested.
The person who died was identified by the OME as Lauren Duncan, 34.
Police have so far not released further details about the incidents.
This is a developing news story and will be updated.