At least 9 people were injured in an overnight shooting in downtown Denver where basketball fans had been celebrating after the Nuggets won their first NBA title.
Police said 10 people, including one of two suspected shooters, were wounded in the mass shooting which was likely caused by a drug deal gone wrong due to the significant quantity of fentanyl pills and cash found in the area. Five weapons were also recovered.
Police Chief Ron Thomas said that all of the injured are expected to survive. That includes five or six people police believe were bystanders not involved in the drug deal.
The wounded suspect, a man, has been taken into custody by the Denver Police.
The shootout started after midnight, about 3½ hours after the game ended, with about 20 rounds fired at the scene which is about a mile from Ball Arena, 2000 block of Market Street, near the intersection with 20th Street.
“As far as what led up to this altercation that resulted in the shots being fired, that’s still under investigation at this time,” police spokesperson Doug Schepman said. “It did occur in the area where we had the largest gathering of folks celebrating during the night.”
The area was sealed off as police continued with their investigation.
A small crowd was in the area at the time of the shooting, Schepman said, but had “diminished quite a bit at that point.” Schepman said the shooting was in a spot where a lot of people might have come out of bars after the game.
The Denver police added that the response to the incident was quick because there was a lot of police presence in the area due to the celebration.
