DENVER — The Denver Police Department (DPD) said Tuesday no arrests have been made but they're making "significant progress" as they investigate a shooting at a park over the weekend that injured nine people, including six people under age 18.
The victims include a 3-year-old girl and two children who are 11 years old and 12 years old, according to DPD chief Paul Pazen. Three of the victims are 17. None of them have life-threatening injuries.
"This is not OK, to have young people harmed in our city like this," said Pazen. "It is not OK to have a surge in violent crime in Denver. It's not OK that this surge in crime is impacting our vulnerable populations."
The shooting happened Sunday afternoon near a park in the 1400 block of West Byers Place, near West Alameda Avenue and South Pecos Street.
Pazen said they need additional information from community members and the victims.
On Aug. 27, police released pictures of a car they suspect was involved in the shooting.
"Not only do we need the community to share information that they may have about this incident, but we are also seeking information from the victims, the victims' family, and the victims' friends," Pazen said. "We need additional information as it has been limited so far."
Four of the nine victims were females ranging in ages from 3 years old to 27 years old. The five male shooting victims were 12 years old to 22 years old. A tenth person, a 22-year-old man, sustained minor injuries after being struck by a vehicle while trying to get away, DPD said.
Pazen didn't want to speculate about why the victims might not have shared information, but Dr. John Nicoletti, a psychologist with Nicoletti-Flater Associates, did. The group specializes in providing trauma intervention, threat assessment, and police and public safety psychological services.
"One is they look at law enforcement as an adversary rather than an advocate. Second, they look at the consequences of being a snitch, 'You all can't protect us,'" said Nicoletti. "Three is, it's too traumatic for us to talk about. Four, it's the family culture not to talk about those things."
The victims appeared to be having a family gathering in the park and are not suspected of having any involvement in the shooting, according to DPD. On Tuesday, Pazen noted that a music video of some kind was also being shot at the park at the same time.
This was just the latest shooting involving young victims. DPD's data through July 12 shows that victims 17 years old and younger have been shot and killed three times as often this year as last year in the city. Police also said more guns have been stolen this year when compared to last year within the city. Through Aug. 6, a total of 422 guns were stolen in the city, which is about 100 more than that same time frame last year.
Pazen said those weapons are getting onto the streets and contributing to gun violence.
"The police deptartment can't do this alone," Pazen said. "We need public to help in public safety. We need to address the increase in gun violence. We can do this by gun owners being responsible, that they properly store and lock them."
This is just the latest of several incidents in recent weeks involving young victims of gun violence.
Three teens were shot and killed in the Montbello neighborhood in recent weeks. Davarie Armstrong, 17, was shot and killed at a house party in Montbello on July 11.
Just days earlier on, on July 7, the bodies 14-year-old Xzavier Collier and 15-year-old Moses Chaney-Harris were found in an apartment in the 12200 block of Albrook Drive, near Peoria Street and East 47th Avenue.
"It's a perfect storm caused by major triggering events, [the] first is [the] pandemic," said Nicoletti. "The second is the racial tension that is the result of some incidents. no profile, no road map, and violence begets violence."
"We will refuse to accept that this is a new normal in the life of this city, a place that is considered one of the safest in the country," said Mayor Michael Hancock. "I'm asking everyone to be accountable, take ownership of our streets and neighborhoods, and put children' safety first, and help us reverse [the] trend."
Anyone with information about any of the crimes is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Callers can remain anonymous and can be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Tips can also be submitted online through the Crime Stoppers website
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