Dozens of bullet casings were scattered along Stout Street in downtown Denver on Sunday morning, marking the trail where three men were shot and wounded.
The shootings occurred about 12:30 a.m. after an argument broke out at a house party in the 2200 block of Stout.
The argument spilled out of the house, and a running gun battle ensued from the sidewalk in front of the house to the intersection of Park Avenue West, said Denver police Detective Virginia Quinones.
The names, conditions and ages of the men who were wounded were not immediately known Sunday, she said.
After the gunfire, the victims were randomly dropped off by friends at the Children’s Hospital, Denver Health Medical Center and Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quinones said.
The victim who was dropped off at the Children’s Hospital was not a minor, she said.
Whoever transported the victims did not accompany them inside the medical centers, she said.
Denver SWAT officers were called out to the house to get everybody out.
At least 15 people were forced to walk backward with their hands up toward police and taken to headquarters and questioned, neighbors said.
The house where the incident began is rented by a man who was having house parties and charging a fee at the door, Quinones said.
The practice of charging a fee to get into a house party is illegal, she said.
The renter’s name was not available, nor was information about whether he was cited.
Moses Hamm, 30, was inside the house during the party but said he left briefly to go to the store.
When he came back, he found out about the shootings.
Hamm said the argument started because a woman was slapped and someone got angry about it.
Hamm complained that Denver police did not respond for 45 minutes after the shootings and he thinks police should have heard the shots fired.
Quinones did not immediately know whether someone called 911 or whether police learned of the shootings after the victims were dropped off at hospitals.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
