Two men ambushed and shot at a Burger King may have been victims of mistaken identity, Denver police said Monday.
The men were migrant workers from outside the Denver area who stopped at the fast-food restaurant on 49th Avenue and Federal Boulevard to get a hamburger, police said.
The crime was one of three shootings Sunday morning that killed four men in a two-hour span – the deadliest sequence of homicides in Denver since 1994 when six people were killed.
About 75 people were interviewed by police in all three shootings, but no arrests had been made by Monday night.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman expressed frustration at the lack of cooperation.
“There were other people there who could be charged as accomplices to murder, so they better start talking,” Whitman said. “Accomplice to murder is a very serious charge. They need to bring the information to us before we come looking for them and find them.”
The other two fatal shootings occurred at Halloween parties. Police said the deadly mixture of alcohol and handguns was the common denominator.
The Denver coroner’s office declined to release the names of the men who were killed until their families were properly notified. Denver police declined to name the people who were wounded because they are potential witnesses.
Four people were shot at 460 Quitman St. about 12:40 a.m. when an argument broke out. A 23-year-old man died; three others survived.
Red police crime tape was still strewn around the home on Monday.
Neighbor Louis Lopez, 57, said he was going to bed when he heard the commotion and then 10 to 12 gunshots.
“There was probably 30 or more kids at the party,” Lopez said.
Another Halloween party shooting at 2091 S. King St. started with an argument and ended in the deaths of 21-year- old Teddy Guerra Jr., and his friend, Isaiah Roybal, also 21.
Three other people were injured, one seriously, before the assailants left the party.
“We want to solve this case,” said lead homicide detective Mark Crider, who was outside the home Monday.
“These were good kids,” said Virginia Martinez, 65, Roybal’s grandmother.
She said the partygoers were mostly Roybal’s former wrestling team members at West High School, where he and Guerra had gone to school.
She described her grandson as an outgoing athlete, an all- star wrestling champion, who was “well-liked and well-respected.”
She said Guerra and her grandson were best friends.
On Monday, police continued looking for three cars they believe were used in the Burger King shooting.
The victims were followed into the parking lot at 1:18 a.m. by a late-model Cadillac with tinted windows, a Pontiac Grand Am with custom wheels and tinted windows, and a 2000 silver or gray Camaro or Firebird.
A group of 15 to 20 people got out of those cars and walked up to the victims, police said. The group smashed the windows of the car and shots were fired.
The two men in the car, ages 19 and 20, were shot.
The 19-year-old died. The 20-year-old was treated for his wounds at a hospital and sent home.
Mayor John Hickenlooper assured the public Monday that Denver police were working around the clock to find the killers. He also urged cooperation from witnesses.
“Denver suffers any time we experience a senseless tragedy,” Hickenlooper’s statement said. “For needless violence to take four young lives in a mere two-hour time span is beyond unacceptable.”
Staff writers Amy Brouillette and Manny Gonzales contributed to this report.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
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