DENVER — Police in Denver are investigating a shooting that left one person dead and wounded five others on the eastern side of the city Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the shooting happened around 1:50 p.m. in the 1400 block of Verbena Street near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue near the Denver-Aurora line.
In a news conference at 3:45 p.m., Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said three people were in a vehicle that pulled up near the intersection of Colfax and Verbena while others were standing on the sidewalk on the west side of Verbena. Officers were first alerted to the shooting by ShotSpotter, and arrived on scene minutes later, he said.
After the three people got out of their vehicle, they opened fire with handguns on the group that was standing on the sidewalk, hitting five of them. Clark said there was no apparent conflict between the two groups and that police did not have a motive or description of the suspects as of 4 p.m.
After the shooting, the people got back into the vehicle and drove away. Police later found it abandoned near 12th and Yosemite a few blocks away, Clark said.
He said the three got into another vehicle — a dark black SUV that appears to be a Ford Explorer — and drove off. The suspects have not been located but police said they found the Explorer on Tuesday evening along the 3900 block of N. Colorado.
The victim who died was pronounced dead at the scene. Four other victims were transported to the hospital, police said. Clark said three of those who are hospitalized are in critical condition, and the other has non-life-threatening injuries and is stable.
After the news conference, police tweeted that there was a sixth victim, a man who was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The victims include four men and two women, the department said. One of the men died at the scene of the shooting. He was identified Monday as 41-year-old Allen Dawkins.
Video obtained by Denver7 of the aftermath of the shooting showed several people bleeding and injured on the sidewalk, and people performing life-saving measures on one man.
Denver police said they believe the black Ford Explorer was involved in the shooting and ask anyone who knows people associated with the vehicle to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
PLZ RT: The dark vehicle in this photo is believed to have been used by the suspect(s) in this shooting. If you see it or know the person(s) associated with this vehicle, please call 720-913-7867. We do not have make/model confirmed at this time. #Denver pic.twitter.com/RpKLgaJLWM
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) November 1, 2022
Clark said the area has extra patrol and undercover officers because it has a higher rate of violent crime, and that the department is working with community members in the area to try to cut down on the crime rate.
The Denver Police Department initially tweeted that six victims were located, but corrected that a short time later to five victims in a subsequent tweet.
Both directions of East Colfax Ave. and Verbena Street are closed in the area.
This a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
