Ten Injured, Two in Custody for Early-Morning Shooting After Nuggets Championship Celebration

As the celebration in Denver's streets after the Nuggets NBA championship victory was winding down at about 12:30 a.m. on June 13, ten people were injured in a shooting at 20th and Market streets.

“I'm truly troubled to be here before you now talking about these tragic events that occurred last night in downtown Denver, when instead we should be celebrating the NBA championship,” said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas at a press conference this morning. “Sadly, though, because of this unnecessary instance of gun violence that occurred literally amid thousands of community members who were peacefully celebrating, we have to set that aside for right now.”

Officers and paramedics in the immediate area of the shooting responded quickly, using six ambulances to transport those injured to Denver Health. Nine men and one woman sustained injuries; all are expected to live.

According to Denver Health trauma surgeon Eric Campion, four required immediate surgery and five are still in the hospital, including one 22-year-old detained by police for his involvement in the incident. Ricardo Miquel Vazquez had fled the scene before being apprehended near Park Avenue and Blake Street; he's  being held for investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender and possession of a controlled substance.

And Vazquez is not the only one that the DPD suspects was involved in the shooting. While five or six may have been innocent bystanders, others may have had some level of involvement.

“It appears that multiple firearms were discharged and then at least twenty rounds were fired in that area,” said Matt Clark, the DPD’s major crimes division commander.

The DPD recovered a firearm from Vazquez, one from a vehicle that was parked near the scene, and three others. It has not yet determined if all five of those guns were fired at the scene.

Raoul Gottfried Jones, a 33-year-old who was in the vehicle where police recovered one of the firearms, is currently in DPD custody, held for investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender; he was not injured. He and Vazquez are being held on weapons charges as police work to determine the extent of their involvement and whether they caused any of the injuries.

Officers also recovered multiple bags of fentanyl, but haven't yet confirmed what role the drugs played in the incident.

“Much more investigation will be done, but it certainly does appear to have been a drug nexus,” Thomas said, citing a video police shared of the scene. “There were quantities of cash. There was a large amount of drugs. … There does appear to be a collection of individuals who are engaged in some fashion. At one time you can see an altercation.”

Thomas added that the department believes shots were fired at the end of that altercation, and that the situation had nothing to do with the Nuggets championship win.

“Our strong belief is that this was completely unassociated with the celebration,” he said.

However, police and first responders were able to move quickly once shots were fired because they were stationed in the area to facilitate the celebration. Armando Saldate, executive director of the Denver Department of Safety, said the city was prepared and had a coordinated plan for handling the celebration, including deploying hundreds of officers.

“I've been in a lot of command posts through my thirty years in this business, and this was one of the more chaotic scenes, but it was also very well managed,” Saldate said at the press conference. “Unfortunately, we know what has happened when you have gunfire in a large crowd in LoDo. We've seen some very negative consequences of that. As I said, we've learned from our training and our tactics and our experience, and that response was evident.”

None of the nearly 200 officers stationed near 20th and Market fired their weapons, but those officers weren’t able to prevent the shooting.

“As you see, we were steps away from this incident, and so our mere presence certainly did not stop the incident from occurring,” Thomas admitted. “I can't speak to why those individuals felt emboldened to engage in that behavior.”

Thomas said that the intersection of 20th and Market is known for its potential for violence, particularly when bars nearby let out. The DPD is working on addressing the presence of guns and drugs in the area to combat the problem.

Still, those officials who spoke at the press conference agreed that the Nuggets championship parade on Thursday isn’t any more dangerous because of the incident. Thomas noted that the DPD will plan to be extra vigilant, encouraging people to let nearby officers know if they see potential problems.

“My confidence is that this will be a very safe event,” said Saldate, adding that he plans to have his own family at the parade and rally.

The investigation is still in its early stages. Police ask that anyone with information, particularly raw video, reach out to the DPD or to the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers hotline at 720-913-STOP (7867).