Aurora Police Arrest 4 In Deadly Shooting At Quality Inn
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Police in Aurora arrested 4 suspects in connection with Wednesday's deadly shooting at the Quality Inn & Suites Denver Airport in Aurora. The shooting happened near the pool on the ground level about 7 p.m.
A 16-year-old boy was killed. Two females, ages 20 and 19 were located with bullet wounds and hospitalized. A fourth victim drove to a hospital.
Shortly after that shooting, Aurora 911 received a report of another person shot at North Chambers Road and East Smith Road. Officers from the Aurora Police Gang Intervention Unit contacted three juvenile males and one 18-year-old male. That's when they discovered the adult male was suffering from a gunshot wound and he was rushed to the hospital.
Officers quickly determined that all the males had been involved in the shooting and took them into custody. The adult male, later identified as Rafael Bergeron Martinez of Westminster, was taken into custody after he was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. All four are facing first-degree murder charges. The juveniles have not been identified.
Guests of the Quality Inn, like traveling nurse Alison Milke, were in disbelief.
"We headed down to the pool and as soon as we got out of the elevator there was a cop there and blood on the floor... it's an active crime scene, someone just got shot," she said.
The Quality Inn is located at 3300 North Ouray Street, near Airport Boulevard and Interstate 70. The hotel remained open as investigators combed the scene Thursday for evidence.
Jeremy Lanting felt the police could have been more helpful, "It was just, 'Go back to your room.' They didn't tell us if it was ok or if there was a shooter in the building."
After the shooting, police said they were searching for two others who fled the bloody scene.
Lanting called it a mess, "My dog stepped in the blood in the lobby as we were stepping out and we had to clean him up."
Guests came for a good night's sleep they didn't count on a room in a crime scene.
Detectives are still looking for witnesses and other people who may have been involved in the altercation that lead up to this shooting. Anyone with information about this crime that might help in the investigation is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867). Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of $2,000.