DENVER, Colorado – A shooting in downtown Denver, in the midst of celebrating the Nuggets’ first NBA championship win, left 10 people injured, including one of the two suspected shooters. Police said Tuesday that the shooting was likely sparked by a drug deal gone bad.
All of the injured are expected to survive, including five or six people police believe were bystanders not involved in the drug trade, Chief Ron Thomas said at a news conference.
According to Doug Schepman, a police spokesman, the shooting occurred in the area where the largest number of people had gathered to celebrate overnight. However, at the time of the incident, the crowd had already thinned out considerably.
The shooting began around 12:30 a.m., about three and a half hours after the game, the Denver Police Department said in a release.
Scott D’Angelo was broadcasting live when he heard a series of loud bangs. People panicked and began to seek cover, jumping over concrete barricades or diving for cover. Police, outfitted in riot gear, quickly drew their weapons and yelled at the crowd to seek cover.
Crouched on the ground, D’Angelo, 58, said his arms were shaking with nerves and he felt an asthma attack coming on.
As officers began to move toward the shots, D’Angelo heard a female voice less than a dozen feet away “screaming in pain.” Another victim lay just beyond the first, D’Angelo said, as officers scrambled to provide care.
According to Scott D’Angelo, the shooting lasted approximately 20 seconds. After reviewing the recording of him, which he provided to the police, he was able to confirm the duration of the incident. When ambulances arrived, D’Angelo observed a long trail of blood from a victim who must have been bleeding profusely. He also saw shell casings a few feet from where he had dropped to the ground for cover.
The shots were fired in the LoDo district of downtown Denver, known for its restaurants and nightlife. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area overnight Tuesday as investigators searched the scene, which was dotted with evidence markers and what appeared to be debris from the celebrations, including an electric scooter and a green rental bike.
