2 homeless people shot, police searching for suspect near Logan Street and East 18th Avenue in Denver
Someone shot two homeless people Monday afternoon and now Denver police are searching for the suspect or suspects. Denver police say the two victims were not involved in what police call a disturbance that led to shots being fired.
The shooting happened near Logan Street and East 18th Avenue around 2:15 p.m. The two victims were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Photos from the scene show the rear windshield of a car and a nearby residential window broken. A witness said he also saw what he thought were bullet holes in a nearby tent.
Garrett Ray was staying at the nearby Warwick Hotel when he heard the shots.
"I was just getting ready to go out for the day," he told CBS News Colorado, "and I heard a lot of shots. Probably, I would say, at least 10. It kind of caught my attention. You always think it's fireworks when you hear that many but as soon as I opened the sliding glass door, I kind of saw some people running in different directions."
He said he heard some arguing and yelling just before he heard the shots. He said the argument and shooting appeared to stem from one of the nearby homeless camps. He said he's sympathetic to the situation of homeless and unhoused people but called on the city to do something about the violence he and other Denver residents have seen and been victims of.
"It was pretty chaotic for a few seconds," he said. "That's all we caught, the tail end of it. But apparently, the hotel actually took some rounds, so I'm feeling pretty lucky actually at this point. That's why I came down to see if I could help at all."
Ray said he's lived downtown for a while and had heard gunshots before, but this was the first time bullets ever entered a building he was in.
"My wife was actually too nervous to even come down here, so I think when I get upstairs, we'll revisit whether we'll spend another night here or not," he said. "It definitely makes you wonder if you're safe or not."
CBS News Colorado also spoke with another person watching the police scene unfold at the encampment.
"It's crazy to come back and be like, 'oh my car just got shot up.' I'm glad I wasn't here," said Cody Daniel.
Just 45 minutes after parking his white PT Cruiser near the encampment on Logan Street, Daniel came back to shattered windows from some of the gunfire.
"I just got that car too, yesterday," he said. "That's the silver lining; at least I wasn't in it."
To date, the city has not conducted an official sweep at this location near 17th and Logan under Mayor Mike Johnston's administration. Johnston became mayor on July 17 and declared a state of emergency on homelessness the following day.
"Homeless or not homeless, people with guns that don't know how to use them, that's the problem," said Daniel.
However, Johnston has previously touted that the city will only conduct sweeps in areas where there is a significant public health risk.
For people like Ray, they see this instance of crime as a perfect example of an area that needs the city's attention: "When it brings an unnecessary amount of violence, I feel like it's an issue that needs to be addressed."
