Three separate shootings overnight in the metro area left three people dead and two wounded.
The first shooting took place late Monday night when a fight broke out between two groups of men outside a liquor store on South Federal Boulevard, police said.
The confrontation moved to West Ohio Avenue and Federal when one group drove up in a white Dodge pickup truck and began shooting at the other group. Police said they don’t know if the second group returned fire.
Two of the men on the street were wounded and taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where one died. The condition of the other wounded man was not known.
Police said the Dodge pickup truck was reported stolen from the Montbello area Monday. Police haven’t found it.
The second shooting took place around 1:30 this morning near West Mexico Avenue and South Depew Street in Lakewood.
Police said a dark colored Ford or Jeep sport-utility vehicle pulled up to a group of men gathered in a garage. Shots fired from the vehicle hit and killed a 21-year-old man. No one else was injured, said Lakewood spokesman Steve Davis.
The vehicle sped off. Police are still looking for it.
In the third incident, which happened around 5:30 this morning, a violent confrontation broke out in front of a house in the 4300 block of Fillmore Street.
Two people were shot, one of whom died at the scene. Police described the victims only as adults and said they weren’t aware of their relationship.
Police identified the shooting suspect as a white male wearing a white T-shirt and black pants or shorts who was last seen running south from the scene.
Police placed about two dozen yellow evidence markers at various spots on the street, some of them marking spent shell casings.
At 5:50 a.m., police locked down the Geotech Environmental Equipment manufacturing facility at 40th Avenue and Clayton Street because they suspected that the gunman may have ducked inside. About 20 overnight employees were evacuated and taken away in an RTD bus while eight SWAT team members and two dogs searched the large manufacturing facility, according to Frank Gonzales, production manager.
“We had opened the garage doors because of the heat,” said Gonzales. “No one saw anyone enter the building. I think the police were just being cautious.”
Day-shift workers began arriving in the parking lot during the search.
“There are a lot of places to hide in there,” said Jeff Popiel, a vice president who sat on his car with his computer. Fellow employees left for breakfast at a nearby McDonald’s.
After two and a half hours of searching, police said they found nothing and turned the building over to the company around 8:30 a.m.
