City leaders are calling for a “Summer of Peace,” but peace appeared hard to come by in Denver this week as two men were killed in street shootings.
It will take time for the anti-crime, anti-gang initiative – launched on June 21 – to begin to resonate in the community, city leaders say.
“What I know is this means we have to work harder and what we are doing is even more important,” said Regina Huerter, executive director of the city’s Crime Prevention and Control Commission.
“One of the things we have to keep saying is this is not just about” city officials, she said. “The community has got to step forward, the citizens in general, neighborhoods have to step forward and say this kind of violence is not acceptable.”
Yard signs throughout the city tout the new campaign along with a series of events aimed at keeping youths busy during the summer.
On Monday, the Oracle of Tibet, an adviser to the Dalai Lama, made an appearance in Denver to help promote the initiative.
On Tuesday night, 23-year-old Gustavo Arambula-Castaneda of Durango, Mexico, was shot to death on East 30th Avenue and Franklin Street. Police say he was the victim of a gang-related shooting.
Arambula-Castaneda’s family lives in Denver, but did not respond to a request for an interview.
Police say Arambula-Castaneda was riding or sitting on a bike when he was gunned down after arguing or speaking to someone in a red sedan.
On Wednesday morning, a person walking by the tennis courts at Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 3880 Newport St., flagged down police and told an officer about a body on the ground.
The dead man was identified Thursday as 29-year-old William Johnson. A motive for the killing was not immediately clear, Denver police Detective John White said.
A man also remained in critical condition Thursday after he was shot in the stomach while riding a bicycle in the 3100 block of West 26th Avenue on Tuesday night.
A motive for that shooting is also unknown, White said.
“Historically, we see increases in violence with the warm weather,” White said.
In 1993, Denver experienced the “summer of violence,” when gang shootings and bloodshed were at an all-time high.
“What we are trying to do with the Summer of Peace is to create a new conversation,” Huerter said.
“We have to create a different message in our community,” she said. “It’s about using the language. It’s about starting to send a different message.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
