Audio By Carbonatix
Even though St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t officially take place until Thursday, most celebrations in Denver happened over the weekend, including the city’s annual parade, which reportedly attracted as many as 500,000 people on Saturday.
But yesterday at a traditional place for St. Patrick’s fun — the Irish Rover Pub, at 54 South Broadway — a very unpleasant event took place.
Shots were fired inside the venue as last night turned into this morning.
A suspect with facial tattoos is thought to have fired the shots — and at this writing, he remains at large.
The first official communication about the incident came via a Denver Police Department tweet sent out just past midnight.
#BREAKING (1/2) #DPD officer are on-scene in the area of Bayaud Avenue and Broadway on a report of shots fired. No injuries are reported.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) March 14, 2016
The location of the shooting, according to 9News, was the Irish Rover Pub, about which we’ve written frequently over the years.
In 2008, for instance, we asked local bartenders to name Denver’s most authentic Irish pub.
The Irish Rover’s drink dispenser answered our questions this way:
Why is Irish Rover the most authentic Irish pub in town?
Because of all the Irish guys who give me shit all day long – I’m pretty much the only American who works here. It’s also the best Limerick bar.
Why is this the place to be for St. Patrick’s Day weekend?
’Cause I’m here – what more do you need? No, seriously: There’s going to be lots of green shit, lots of music, lots of dancing and lots and lots and lots and lots of boozing.
In 2012, we returned to tout the Irish Rover’s then-new rooftop patio, seen in the photo directly above.
We were back a few weeks later to cover a flip-cup competition at the pub.
And our 2013 Irish Pub Crawl slide show focused entirely on folks at the Rover.
Never before have we reported about gun play at the venue during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, or on any other day.
And we were unable to find any online references to similar events.
As such, last night’s event appears to be an anomaly.
In the meantime, the Denver police sent out a followup tweet about the shooting with information about the suspect:
#BREAKING (2/2) in relation to this incident, we are looking for a 6’2”, 25-35 yr old, White or Hispanic male, with facial tattoos.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) March 14, 2016
Thus far, we’ve gotten no word about an arrest in the case.
Here’s hoping the rest of Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities focus on green beer, not bullets.
Look below to see a 7News report from the scene.
