BOULDER, Colo. — Officers responded to multiple major disturbances on the Fourth of July, the Boulder Police Department (BPD) said Wednesday.
Between noon and midnight, BPD said, it received 152 calls for service. Of those, 64 were for fireworks. That number could include multiple calls to the same area.
The first large incident officers responded to was at a home in the 700-block of 17th Street for a noise complaint. Around 4 p.m., officers warned the resident to lower the noise or shut the party down, BPD said. At 5:30 p.m., officers received another call for the same home and told the resident to end the party.
The crowd of about 100 to 200 people began to gather in the street and set off fireworks, sometimes throwing them or aiming them in the direction of passing cars, according to BPD. The crowd also lit bushes on fire and jumped on cars.
The department's SWAT team was activated to safely break up the crowd and "conduct a show of force in assisting patrol officers," BPD said.
There was no widespread property damage or "riotous conditions" in that incident, according to police. A man was cited for having a nuisance party.
> Video above from Tuesday: Not many tickets written for fireworks violations on Fourth of July.
The second incident took place between 8 and 9 p.m. near the intersection of 14th Street and Aurora Avenue, while officers were still responding to the first incident.
BPD said there was an argument between partygoers that involved an unknown man pulling out an AR-15-style rifle
Officers later found out the man fired the gun, after a resident reported finding shell casings on Wednesday. BPD said officers found 11 shell casings.
After the gunshots were fired, a fight took place and three people left the scene in a car, according to BPD.
Shortly after that incident, officers responded to a call about a burglary in the 800 block of 17th Street, just down the street from the party. Two men were arrested on second-degree burglary charges, BPD said.
Officers do not believe those suspects were involved in the shooting.
Around the same time, officers also responded to fights at three restaurants, a report of a man firing a gun near the Penfield Tate II Municipal Building and numerous noise and fireworks calls.
Around 9:30 a.m., officers responded to North Boulder Park at 9th and Balsam streets to investigate reports of juveniles setting off fireworks.
Officers spoke with several teens lighting off fireworks, including a 16-year-old who ran away when they tried to cite him, BPD said. When the teen stopped and officers began to arrest him, they were surrounded by a group of more than 100 juveniles.
Additional officers arrived and stabilized the scene, and the teen was cited and released to his parents, according to BPD.
Officers responded throughout the night to large crowds, reportedly involving up to 200 people, setting off fireworks in the park.
BPD said officers staged and monitored the growing crowd until more than a dozen officers were on the scene and able to safely break up the group by 1 a.m.
On Tuesday morning, officers were called to the intersection of 14th Street and Euclid Avenue, where dozens of shell casings were found in the street.
Neighbors said they witnessed a shootout between at least three people firing guns at each other and in the air around 1:15 a..m, BPD said. No calls were made to police to report the gunfire.
Nearly 70 shell casings and two live rounds were found at the scene, and that investigation is ongoing.
"We understand the community’s frustration. I myself was frustrated by the criminal behavior of these individuals here in our city. However, we had to prioritize calls for service based on reports of violence, property crime and officer safety concerns for over 12 hours,” Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said. “Due to the professional response of the Boulder Police Department, including the SWAT team, there was only one reported injury and no officers were injured.”
Anyone with information on any of these crimes is asked to call dispatch at 303-441-3333.
Anyone with information can also contact Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at info@nococrimestoppers.com or 1-800-222-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Calls to the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers are not recorded and the phone does not have caller ID, according to the NoCoCrimestoppers website. A coordinator completes a tips information form, makes initial inquiries and passes the information along to investigators.
A two-way dialogue system online also allows tipsters to come back and provide additional information and ask questions.
A community board of directors meets regularly to evaluate arrests and determine reward amounts.
> More information about Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional NoCo Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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