DENVER — A young child who was shot and critically wounded in a parking lot Monday evening was caught in the crossfire when the suspect opened fire at another man who had been taking pictures of his vehicle, Denver Police said in a update on Dec. 29.
DPD responded to 2969 South Federal Blvd. around 4:30 p.m. Monday for a report of shots fired. That's near West Bates Avenue and is not far from the former Colorado Heights University campus.
Police said the adult victim spotted a vehicle parked in a handicapped parking spot with its tire up on a curb and began taking pictures. As he was taking those pictures, the man driving the car came out of a business and began firing a gun toward the man, DPD said.
The man was struck and wounded but has since been released from the hospital, police said. It's unclear if the suspect and victim had any prior interactions.
A young child who was sitting inside a van in the parking lot was also hit by gunfire and critically injured. DPD said they don't believe the child was targeted and said the child was there with family to pick up food.
DPD described the shooter as a Hispanic man in his 20s who is associated with a red Subaru Outback. He was wearing red flannel pajamas, a black hoodie and glasses. The vehicle is an Outback made between 2000 and 2004 and has its rear plate obscured by a paper sign.
Police are asking for anyone who may have information on the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or by visiting metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers are notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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