DENVER — Sol Tribe Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing on Broadway has closed its doors for the final time.
The closure was announced on the business's Instagram page, where a post said "We are stunned by this news and we are heart broken."
The shop's owner, Alicia Cardenas, and an employee, Alyssa Gunn Maldonado, were killed in a shooting inside the shop on Dec. 27, 2021. Jimmy Maldonado, Alyssa's husband, was also shot but survived.
The shooting was part of a string of shootings that killed five people and injured two others across Denver and Lakewood.
"You can be a victim and be bitter or angry, or you can just do the opposite and do your best to evolve and grow and not be like that," Jimmy Maldonado said on Tuesday.
Maldonado returned to Sol Tribe after the shooting, and worked as a piercer for the past two and a half years.
"Just having to go back to that area, that space where I lost my wife, I lost my sister and where I almost lost my own life. It was a little difficult being there," he said. "In that pain, I've been able to find a lot of love, self love, and I have been needing to get out of there for a long time."
Maldonado decided to leave Sol Tribe in June. On Friday, he will open his own piercing shop inside Wolf and Goat Tattoo and Piercing in Denver.
"I had an opportunity with one of the owners here who just wanted me to come and open up a piercing shop in his space, and yes, I took it," he said. "I feel like it's going to give me an opportunity to honor Alicia and Alyssa in more of a loving way."
Maldonado wanted to create a space that felt like home. He wants to give his customers the best quality of work as well as the best experience. He plans to officially open his shop on Friday.
Since making the decision to leave, he said he hasn't felt this content in a while.
"I didn’t really truly realize how much it was affecting me being there, and once I left and a week after, my nervous system starts to calm down and you’re just like, 'holy crap,'" he said. "This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time."
Maldonado is now taking appointments and would love the community's support. He said he still has a bullet in his back and hopes to have surgery later this summer to get that removed. His friends have organized a GoFundMe to help with expenses.
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