Girl Shot, Injured Outside Central Park Rec Center In Denver, Suspect At Large
(CBS4) - A girl was shot and injured outside the Central Park Recreation Center in Denver on Sunday afternoon. The rec center is located at 9651 East M.L.K. Jr Boulevard, and police believe events in the parking lot led up to the shooting. The girl was later found injured away from the shooting scene in the 8900 block of E 25th Street.
Police believe an altercation in the rec center parking lot led to the shooting, but investigators don't know what caused the altercation.
A CBS4 crew on the scene of the rec center captured video of lots of shell casings and evidence markers on the ground and crime tape up in the lot. Vehicle owners whose cars were parked in the area of the parking lot that was closed off were told they couldn't access their vehicles for several hours during the afternoon.
"We heard what sounded like fire crackers, basically pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," said Jeremey Graves, a resident of the area. "I'd estimate maybe 20 pops like that."
Around 4 p.m., CBS4 spoke to several parents who rushed to the crime scene to pick up their kids who were hanging out at the rec center.
A person who was inside the rec center when the shots rang out outside told CBS4 a shelter-in-place was put into effect afterward, and people inside were told to get away from the windows. That order only lasted for a short time. Sixteen-year-old Marcus Wiley was working out inside the facility when shots rang out.
"This isn't normal," Wiley said. "That's exactly why it was so surprising to me and my friend. It's normally really peaceful over here. Don't get me wrong there's instances here and there, but normally not often."
During a time when gun crimes seem to saturate headlines, a parent and teacher, who did not want to be identified, worries what lies ahead.
"I feel like our world is turned upside down, something needs to happen immediately," he said.
Police said they are searching for a suspect.
