Market Street shooting that injured 4 leads to questions about downtown policing

Yahoo

06-05-2025

DENVER (KDVR) — A Sunday night shooting in the 1900 block of Market Street is raising concerns after four people were injured, and neighbors say this is one of many violent incidents that began in a nearby parking lot.
The area is part of Denver's Union Station neighborhood and Ballpark District, which is home to many nightclubs, bars and other establishments. The shooting was reported by the Denver Police Department at about 9:24 p.m. on Sunday, with officials initially saying that only three people were injured.
Driver arrested after deadly crash involving electric scooter
On Monday, FOX31 learned there was a fourth person who experienced a bullet graze and was transported to a local hospital by a private vehicle. One resident of a nearby apartment building told FOX31's Vicente Arenas that something has to be done to curtail crime in the Ballpark District.
'It's sad and frustrating because maybe there's not enough police help to patrol the area,' Downtown resident Derek Parks said.
A video obtained by FOX31 of the incident shows a person being lifted from a sidewalk and helped into a waiting SUV. But it was not clear if this person was hurt by gunfire.
Another video showed people running and yelling as they ran from the shooting scene. Arenas also spoke with several people who say this type of shooting is happening way too often. Another resident said gunfire and shootings are a common occurrence every weekend.
'The bars are the problem, unfortunately. I know they are huge, fun spot for everybody, but you are bringing people into the city that hang out there cause crime there,' Downtown resident Alyssa Mance said.
In early April, the city of Denver established a new safety effort that included the area where the shootings have been a problem.
Denver to increase downtown police presence in effort to invigorate area
'Safety is a top priority of our administration, which is why we recently launched the Safe Downtown Action Plan to bring more resources and patrols to our city center and ensure incidents like these are rare and isolated. We are glad to know all parties are expected to recover and know the Denver Police Department is working swiftly to bring those accountable to justice. As this is an ongoing investigation, we encourage you to reach out to DPD for additional information,' A spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston's office said in a written statement.
'This one was a little bit different because of the sounds of the gunshots were different,' said downtown resident Monica Pagan. 'The first one was 'pop pop'. But this one sounded more of an automatic.'
Residents say a lot of the problems start in a large parking lot and are now circulating a petition to shut it down. They are not hopeful that shootings like this will slow down anytime soon.
The Denver Police Department turned down FOX31's request for an on-camera interview about the shooting. No word on any arrests so far.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.