Gang Unit Investigating Aurora Shooting After Fight on Bus, Three in Custody

Is gang violence flaring up in Aurora?

On Monday, we told you about three shootings over the weekend, two of them in Aurora, and noted speculation that the incidents could be gang-related.

Now, three suspects are in custody in regard to a shooting that followed a fight on an RTD bus.

And while the Aurora Police Department hasn't explicitly said gang members were involved, a representative of the gang unit is the point of contact.

At around 4:55 p.m. yesterday, May 19, according to the APD, officers received a report about gunfire near an RTD bus stop on the 100 block of South Sable Boulevard.

The area is captured in the following interactive graphic. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View on Google Maps."


Upon their arrival, officers found an adult male who'd been shot. The cops aren't saying where the bullet struck or anything specific about hospitalization, which suggests that the wound wasn't life-threatening.

What happened? Investigators say the victim got into a dispute on a bus with three men — and the beef continued as they dismounted.

Shortly thereafter, someone produced a gun and pulled the trigger, after which the three suspects ran into a nearby apartment complex, known as Topaz II.

The cops alerted residents of Topaz II to stay put and take shelter via a reverse 911 call, then set out to locate the suspects — which they did.

The men were found inside an apartment at the complex and were taken into custody without further incident, the department notes.


At this writing, the APD hasn't released the names of the suspects or identified them as gang members.

However, those with information about the case are encouraged to contact Agent Peter Szuch with the Aurora Police Gang Intervention Unit at 303-739-1985.

In addition, Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz addressed the issue in an impromptu press availability captured in an APD video. The sound quality is dubious, but at just shy of the three minute mark, Metz says it appears that the suspects were gang members, but that possibility is still under investigation.

Here's the clip:


The police are doing their best to put the latest shooting in perspective. A spokesperson told 9News that there have been eleven shooting incidents involving a victim since the start of 2015, as compared to fifteen over the same period last year.

But three of them took place over an approximately sixty hour span — from 4:10 a.m. on Sunday (during which a man suffered a critical leg wound after a shooting near East 23rd Avenue and North Dayton Street) to the bus stop blast yesterday afternoon.

Thus far, the only arrests announced by the APD in the three shootings involve the one yesterday.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.