Pazen stressed that the shooting was a targeted rather than random attack. But he would not confirm or deny that the three others hurt were also targeted, or if one or more of them would qualify as an innocent bystander.
At the outset of his remarks, Pazen paid tribute to "the great work of the officers and investigators who worked throughout the night" to solve the crime. "I don't think they've slept."
He then divulged that he had "significant progress to report."
At 4:04 p.m. on the 19th, Pazen went on, "we received multiple calls of shots fired" in the vicinity of 21st and Lawrence. "First responders located five shooting victims. Each of them are adult males. Four of the victims were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Unfortunately, the fifth victim was pronounced deceased at the scene."
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen at a press briefing on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 20.
Denver Police Department via Periscope
The arrestee was ID'd as Josh Hayward — date of birth February 11, 1994. "He is currently being held for investigation of first-degree murder," Pazen allowed.
As for Armstrong, born on December 28, 1994, Pazen emphasized that he is currently "facing federal weapons charges."
A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined. "We still have a lot of investigative work to do" before such a conclusion is reached, Pazen stated. But, he said, "we do believe this was a targeted shooting. It was not random. Who exactly in this group was targeted remains under investigation, and we're working hard to identify any and all participants of this crime."
The open-ended nature of this last remark raises the possibility that the other three men hit may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. When quizzed about this, Pazen was purposefully vague: "What I'd say is that an exchange of gunfire is not safe anywhere in our city, and we are investigating all aspects of that."
The area around the shooting site is filled with restaurants, nightspots and retail establishments that will get busier and busier over the course of the holiday season. And while Pazen studiously avoided implying that the Denver Police Department views the area as more important to protect than other sections of the metro area for this reason, he also tried to reassure anyone who might think about shying away from visiting the downtown entertainment district (where two multi-victim shootings happened within twelve days of each other in September) for fear of more violence erupting.
"Denver is a remarkably safe city," he maintained. "We work tirelessly with our partners and with our community to ensure it is safe. The fact that we were able to get the information [about the shooting] from a community that wasn't afraid to come forward and share this information and get individuals in custody within hours demonstrates that."
He also underscored that law enforcers are being "proactive in our efforts to keep the community safe. We welcome people coming down there and will do everything possible to ensure their safety."
In addition, Pazen sent a message to anyone who decides to settle a beef by pulling a trigger: "It's a concern for us anytime somebody is injured by gunfire in our city. It's complete unacceptable for any person to discharge firearms within our city. ... People who decide to do that, we will hold them accountable for their actions."
