DENVER, Colo. — A early-morning gunfight in Denver's crowded entertainment district Sunday ended with police fatally shooting one man and critically wounding another after both allegedly fired a shotgun at officers.
Four bystanders suffered minor injuries from shotgun pellets, police said.
The confrontation took place just before clubs closed in the popular Lower Downtown area when officers on routine duty approached a fight and were fired on, Police Lt. Ron Saunier said.
Two officers confronted a man with a shotgun, and he turned in their direction and fired at them, Saunier said. The man was shot and later declared dead at a hospital. A second man picked up the shotgun and fired at officers, police said. Officers also shot that man.
Police were looking for a third person involved in the gunfight.
"There were dozens, if not hundreds, of people" in the area of the parking lot where the shootings occurred, Saunier said. There are usually thousands of people in the area every night when clubs close, he said.
Many visitors to the Democratic National Convention in August are expected to visit clubs and restaurants in the LoDo neighborhood, about a mile away.
Asked whether there would be changes in crowd control methods for the convention, Saunier did not rule out that it would be part of their review, with 50,000 expected to attend the DNC.
"We will look at how we do business to see if change is needed," Saunier said.
Mayor John Hickenlooper has said additional screening and security measures will be in place at some locations near events.
The last fatal shooting in the LoDo area was in November.
Saunier said crime in Denver is down, although he had no specific figures for LoDo.
