Denver police seeking info after bullet struck woman inside her home
It's bullet holes across the front entrance of Cadance Casillas' home in south Denver that are now a reminder of a vivid and terrifying night.
"I still can't believe it happened," said Casillas. "Everything happened so fast."
The shots were fired just after 2 a.m. in the 700 block of North Wolff Street. The mother of five was in her living room, with one of her teen children and her 1-year-old boy, who was asleep in his playpen. At the time, Casillas did not think she heard the sounds of gunshots outside her home.
"I was sitting at my table on my laptop, getting ready to try to work on some homework, and there was a bunch of loud popping outside," said Casillas. "I get up to go shut my front door, and I hear another loud pop. I feel this horrible pain and numbness shoot down my entire leg. I look down. I see blood on the opposite leg, realize that this leg is bleeding and I drop down to the ground, and I started screaming."
Casillas says her other children quickly rushed to stop her bleeding while they waited for police.
"It went through here, out here," said Casillas, pointing to her bandaged leg. "It still hurts bad, but it could've been worse. From my understanding, the door actually saved my leg."
Instead, Casillas says the bullet missed nearly everything in her leg. Thankfully, none of her family were caught in the crossfire of the other bullets that hit her home.
"The one that's in my window is the one that I'm so thankful it missed because my 15-year-old was lying on the couch, playing on his phone," said Casillas.
Casillas, who is also her husband's caregiver, says the challenge now is providing for her family while she struggles to walk on her own. They're now using crowdfunding to raise money and MealTrain to help provide food while Casillas can't cook.
"Because I'm my husband's caregiver, I do get paid for that but as of tomorrow, I'm out of sick pay. So, they have to put me on hold until I'm cleared by my doctor to resume my normal activities," said Casillas. "So, there goes my income. My husband's income is social security. Social security is once a month."
This is not the only time her family has seen or heard about crime taking place in their neighborhood.
"Recently we've been getting more and more worried. Gunshots have been becoming more and more frequent in the area. We were considering moving and the only problem is we need help with the deposit, and the only programs we could find are only if you're homeless," said Casillas.
Casillas fears the emotional and physical pain her family endured will only continue to be a problem in her neighborhood if police do not work to deter it.
"Now, it's so bad that houses, buildings, places where people live are getting hit," she said. "I would like to see the cops patrolling more. That certainly would help, [to] show that there is a police presence in the area and that it actually calms down here."
A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department says the investigation into this shooting is still ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time:
Officers have and continue to conduct extra patrols in the area that also includes where the shooting occurred. We encourage community members to report any suspicious activity or crime by calling 720-913-2000 or call/text 911 if it is an emergency.
There is now a CrimeStoppers reward of up to $2,000 for information regarding this incident. Tipsters can remain anonymous and call 720-913-7867 or submit their tip through Metro Crime Stoppers official website.
