Witnesses and good samaritan react to deadly Longmont car meetup shooting
Friday night a car meetup turned deadly in the parking lot of Twin Peaks Square Shopping Center in Longmont.
A group of teens, who didn't want us to identify them by name, were at the meetup showing off their cars when an argument broke out a few cars over.
"Everything was pretty cool until we started hearing people arguing and tried pulling out our phones to see if we could catch a fight, and next thing you know they just start shooting," one of them said. He caught the sound of four gunshots on video.
The witnesses say a different group of teens started shoving each other and yelling. One teen ran off. Others chased him and then he pulled out a gun and started shooting.
"It was crazy, it's like supposed to be a family-friendly thing," the witness said.
Pandemonium then ensued in the crowded parking lot.
"It was crazy trying to get out of there," another witness said. "As we were, that's when the truck started pulling out, hit a couple of cars and then the pole."
Longmont Police say a teen who was shot drove off and then crashed into a pole at the nearby intersection of Nelson and Hover streets.
Jamie Newlin was leaving a nearby store with his wife and kids when he heard the shots. He and his family drove off, but soon encountered the crashed truck. Newlin, who has a first responder background, jumped out of the car to help, finding the unresponsive teen at the wheel.
"My main focus was getting him out of the cabin because it was quickly filling up with smoke," said Newlin. He and another bystander laid the teen on the sidewalk and administered CPR.
"We were holding his hand, squeezing it, letting him know he wasn't alone," said Newlin. He says he didn't see any blood or obvious signs of a gunshot wound at the time.
But it wasn't enough, that teen later died from his injuries at the hospital.
"I was hoping that he was doing alright in the hospital," Newlin said. "It sucks to hear that he succumbed to his injuries."
At the scene, Longmont Police tried to pull over a suspect vehicle containing a group of teens. One ran away, while the others were taken into custody. Those teens were interviewed and then released to their guardians. No charges have been filed against them. Longmont Police say they have identified a suspect of interest and are actively investigating.
Any witnesses who were in the immediate area or had video, and have yet to speak to police, are asked to email Detective Daniel Kilian at daniel.kilian@longmontcolorado.gov or call (303) 774-3693. Please reference Longmont Police Report #23-2740.
