The widow of a Safeway warehouse employee who was shot to death says she still doesn’t know why his co-worker killed him and wounded five others June 25.
Mauricio DeHaro’s wife, Lydia, said Thursday that she is filled with questions about her husband’s slaying that may never be answered.
“Mauricio didn’t have any enemies. He never fought with anyone,” she said in Spanish. “The guy who shot my husband, no one knows why he did it. He might have been crazy or something.”
An autopsy report released Thursday says gunman Michael Ford was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the shooting. Ford was killed by Denver SWAT officers after he shot and wounded police officer Derick Dominguez.
Safeway employees Mark Moran, John Mendoza, Luis Relford and Oscar Martinez survived their gunshot wounds.
Ford, a 22-year-old produce selector, went to work at the Quebec Street warehouse and opened fire with a 6-inch-barrel, six-shot Ruger .357-caliber revolver. He also set several fires throughout the building.
“We could not identify any (motive), nor could the Denver Police Department,” said Safeway spokesman Jeff Stroh.
Denver police Detective Virginia Quiñones said detectives have not closed the case and could not comment on their findings.
The autopsy shows Ford had 16 unused rounds of ammunition in his pants pocket along with a black plastic lighter.
He fired 16 rounds during the shooting, according to the Denver district attorney’s report.
When police got to the warehouse, Ford ambushed them. The officers returned fire, striking Ford seven times – in his knee and arm and five times in his back, the report says.
DeHaro’s autopsy report was released separately Thursday.
The report says Ford shot DeHaro five times, in the head, arm, abdomen, hand and thigh.
Safeway has enhanced security at the warehouse since the shooting, Stroh said.
Lydia DeHaro, 29, said she and her husband were married for 11 years and had two daughters, Valeria, 9, and Giselle, 4.
“He left my daughters without their daddy and me without my husband,” she said. “It’s very difficult to continue to move forward without him.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
