Two shootings in the Union Station neighborhood took place this past weekend, doubling the count from the previous weekend. But this was hardly the only section of metro Denver where violence flared. Six additional shootings or stabbings took place in neighborhoods all over the area April 1-3.
Westword's March 25 post "Denver Neighborhoods With More Crime Than the Union Station Area" noted that while the Union Station neighborhood has reported more crimes than any other part of the city so far this year (in part because of law enforcement's increased presence at the train-and-bus terminal), no part of the metro area is immune. The incidents that took place over the weekend underscore this point.
At 12:10 a.m. Saturday, April 2, according to the Twitter account maintained by the Denver Police Department, a shooting took place near West 16th Avenue and Irving Street, an intersection in the West Colfax neighborhood. The victim was an adult male whose injuries weren't immediately detailed — but at 2:27 p.m., the DPD confirmed that he had been pronounced deceased and an unidentified man was under arrest on suspicion of first-degree murder.
At 3:07 a.m. April 2, DPD tweet revealed a stabbing in the vicinity of East Colfax Avenue and Emerson Street, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The victim sustained wounds characterized as non-life threatening.
At 5:06 a.m. April 2, a man was stabbed on the 7200 block of Leetsdale Drive, in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood. "Suspect remains at large," the DPD noted. "Investigation ongoing."
The next shooting happened on the 900 block of Newton Street, in the Villa Park neighborhood, according to a 1:53 p.m. April 2 tweet. Denver police characterized the matter as a "neighbor dispute" that resulted in the person who'd discharged the firearm being taken into custody.
Cut to 1:33 a.m. April 3, when the DPD tweeted about a shooting on the 1300 block of 15th Street, by Larimer Street, which falls into the Union Station neighborhood as identified by the DPD. One victim was located, but specifics about injuries weren't provided.
The 8500 block of West Crestline Avenue, in the Marston neighborhood, was the setting for an alert about a stabbing time-stamped 3:07 p.m. on April 3. The victim's injuries weren't life-threatening, and an adult male was arrested at the scene.
Word of the second Union Station neighborhood shooting came at 7:49 p.m. on April 3. The victim was an adult male who was transported to an area hospital with injuries considered survivable; another man was taken into custody.
In addition, the Aurora Police Department confirmed at 4:10 a.m. on April 3 that an eighteen-year-old man had self-transported to a hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. The shooting is said to have occurred at Expo Park, 10955 East Exposition in Aurora.
Anyone with information about any of these offenses can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).