DENVER — A man can no longer walk after a 15-year-old-boy shot him outside an elementary school in Denver one year ago. The teenager was sentenced last week.
When Angelo Duran had a chance to speak to the shooter in court, he told the boy he forgave him.
Duran and his brother work at the University Hills Farmers Market every Saturday. Afternoons there are never slow. They keep moving. Duran has been operating his stand for several years. A day last fall could've changed it all.
"I have come a really long way since the shooting for sure," he said. Duran lost his ability to walk after seeing a teenage boy with a gun near a school.
"As he is about 100 feet from the school I go to tackle him and he turns around and shoots me four times," he said. "Which is a pretty tough thing to forgive, but I have asked God to put it in my heart and fill my heart full of kindness and humility."
Life kept going. He comes to work a year later carrying forgiveness instead of hate, which helped him show mercy to the teen last week.
"Wasn't to make sure he got the maximum sentence it was just, you know, I want to be able to make sure he can hear that I forgive him," Duran said.
Shifts at the market are harder than they were a year ago. The challenges with adjusting didn't stop him from coming back.
"Cause I feel like if I don't live the way I used to live, then I am allowing the tragedy to take over my life instead of me living it for me," he said.
Every Saturday he takes care of customers. Each person in line is helping him too.
"What kept me going was the loyalty of everyone here. How they just love what we serve," he said.
Duran said the teen was sentenced to five years in youth detention. He met the boy's mom at the hearing last week. She told him how sorry she was for what happened. Duran said it helped him understand this has been a tough year for the boy's family, too.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Duran with medical expenses.