Denver Shootings Don’t Take Thanksgiving Weekend Off

The Denver Police Department wasn’t able to take it easy over the extended Thanksgiving weekend. Four shootings and a stabbing took place from November 25-27, all but one on a single day.

Meanwhile, violent crime for the most recent two-week period for which statistics are available was most acute in thirteen Denver neighborhoods, the majority in the center of the city.

The Denver Police Twitter account was particularly busy on Friday, November 25, and the bulletins started early. At 1:54 a.m. on November 25, the DPD tweeted about a stabbing on the 4700 block of North Jasper Street, in the Gateway-Green Valley Ranch neighborhood. An adult male was hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening.

That afternoon, at 12:19 p.m., police reported a shooting near the intersection of Broadway and Curtis, at the edge of Five Points. Beyond noting wounds to a single victim, no additional information was provided.

Just over five hours later, at 5:49 p.m., another shooting occurred, on the 1500 block of Unita Street, in the East Colfax neighborhood that’s one of the city’s hot spots. An adult male suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

At 7:04 p.m., a report of the day’s third shooting came in; the location was the 9700 block of East Harvard Avenue, in the Hampden neighborhood. An adult female was hospitalized but is expected to recover.

The fifth violent crime alert shared by the department during the holiday weekend was time-stamped at 1:37 a.m. on Sunday, November 27. Two males – one an adult, the other a juvenile – were transported to local hospitals with injuries characterized as “unknown” after being shot on the 15000 block of East 51st Place, in the Montbello neighborhood.

The Denver Crime Map maintained by the DPD classifies violent crime as murder, robbery or aggravated assault, with the data broken down by the number of incidents and crime density – the offense total per square mile. From November 12-26, thirteen Denver neighborhoods or areas exceeded four crimes per square mile; the highest concentrations were in the Central Business District, Capitol Hill, North Capitol Hill, Civic Center and Union Station, a Denver Police designation that runs from LoDo to the Platte River. Here they are, ranked from lowest to highest crime density:

Jefferson Park
Offense Count: 2
Crime Density: 4.07 per square mile

Sun Valley
Offense Count: 3
Crime Density: 4.67 per square mile

East Colfax
Offense Count: 5
Crime Density: 4.68 per square mile

Lincoln Park
Offense Count: 6
Crime Density: 4.70 per square mile

Barnum
Offense Count: 4
Crime Density: 5.19 per square mile

Five Points
Offense Count: 10
Crime Density: 5.69 per square mile

Highland
Offense Count: 8
Crime Density: 6.94 per square mile

West Colfax
Offense Count: 8
Crime Density: 7.95 per square mile

Capitol Hill
Offense Count: 6
Crime Density: 8.88 per square mile

Central Business District
Offense Count: 6
Crime Density: 13.92 per square mile

Civic Center
Offense Count: 5
Crime Density: 16.45 per square mile

North Capitol Hill
Offense Count: 6
Crime Density: 17.00 per square mile

Union Station
Offense Count: 8
Crime Density: 18.22 per square mile