BOULDER, Colo. — Several University of Colorado (CU) students and the owner of a security guard company said a shootout on University Hill early Sunday morning was just the latest incident in a concerning trend of escalating violence perpetrated by armed groups of people who come to the area.
Police said an officer fired his gun after responding to a call near The Sink, a popular campus restaurant, around 1:30 a.m. They said ballistic evidence suggested at least three suspects fired guns at each other, and a video circulating online suggested it happened after an argument in the street.
One suspect was hit in the arm and taken into custody. The others have not been arrested, nor have police released any details of their identities. A Boulder Police spokesperson said Monday the department would not release the name of the suspect in custody as police are still investigating the shooting.
"It didn’t surprise me at all just because I’ve kind of been waiting for it to happen," said CU senior Jack Olsen. "As messed up as that sounds with all the repeated threats of violence in the past four or five weeks, something like this was just bound to happen."
Olsen said groups of people armed with guns have been coming to the Hill every Saturday night, looking to break into fraternity houses, steal things and start fights.
At his fraternity, Olsen said a group of 20 people tried to push down an exterior fence and break in a few weekends ago. Since then, he's heard about similar incidents at other houses or apartments in the area.
"It’s terrifying really," Olsen said. "I shouldn’t have to call my mom at 3:30 in the morning on the verge of tears because these people keep coming up to Boulder every weekend trying to cause harm."
Boulder Police Department spokesperson Dionne Waugh said data suggests that there has been an increase in the number of calls for weapons, shootings and menacing in the Hill area.
"This is a complicated issue that is being analyzed through the Boulder Police Department’s use of stratified policing, and that work remains ongoing," Waugh said in a statement.
"Since the school year started, I’ve seen guys with knives. I’ve seen guys with guns. I’ve seen guys threatening with guns," said Sean Whitlock, whose Rocky Mountain Security company provides armed guards for fraternity events on the Hill.
He said he's never seen it this bad in his nine years on the job. One armed man threatened to stab one of his guards, he said. "It's scary. It's gotten to the point I mean being in Boulder used to be fun. And right now, it's not fun."
Both Whitlock and Olsen said they want Boulder Police to warn students about the increase in violence in the campus area. Waugh said her department communicates with CU and representatives from the fraternities and sororities regularly. She said each house is assigned a liaison – and there is a neighborhood impact team specifically assigned to the University Hill neighborhood.
"The increase in crime is also one of the reasons we had three weeks of major operations when students returned to school last month," she said.
Olsen said his fraternity was considering canceling events for the coming weekend or until the armed groups stop targeting student houses.
"I don’t know if I can continue to ask the members of my house to stay there," he said. "On Saturdays, part of me wants to say, 'Everyone go find somewhere else to sleep tonight,' I don’t I just know what’s being done to keep them safe and they keep us safe."
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