A large number of Arvada patrol officers, detectives and crime scene investigators are at the Burger King at 64th Avenue and Ward Road where multiple suspects entered the restaurant and opened fire about 3 a.m. today.
A woman was found shot inside and taken to a local hospital, said Susan Medina, public information officer for the Arvada Police Department. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Medina declined to idenfify the woman but said she was an employee.
But about 12:30 p.m. a man came to the scene looking for his wife, who he said had worked the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Burger King.
He pointed to what he said was her car, still in the parking lot.
“I have nothing. I call, I call” he said, looking at his cellphone. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
He said she normally works weekdays but called in yesterday to help out. She works in the kitchen, with two others who work the store overnight.
“She is a very nice person,” he said of his 30-year-old wife. “I love her. She calls me all the time, and I call her.”
But he had heard nothing since she went to her overnight shift Saturday. He left the scene with police officers.
An undetermined amount of cash was taken during the crime, Medina said.
At 2:00 p.m. officers were still canvassing the area and working with area businesses to obtain information about the suspects. Medina said that Wheat Ridge Police has also joined the investigation, and representatives of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office are onscene.
The Burger King and a nearby Taco Bell, which is also open late, were closed this morning, although Taco Bell opened for lunch.
Officers are also cordoning off an area about a mile away near 61st and Welch. It was unclear how that scene might be related to the shooting.
But Ken Richter lives on Welch, and he said police told him that suspects apparently fled down his street, throwing off objects along the way.
A black T-shirt was found on his daughter’s Jeep, which was parked in the street in front of the house.
Neighbor Joe Rotello didn’t hear anything overnight, but he said police found a black pullover in the gutter near his house. It was marked with two orange cones.
The alleged flight path is a residential area where home sell for between $250,00 and $300,000.
Joe Pennetta said he thinks the people who targetted the Burger King must have known the neighborhood, because their route indicated they were familiar with the sidestreets.
The restaurant is open 24 hours. But the great majority of Burger Kings in the metro area lock their front doors at night. Patrons can order through a driveup window.
Medina said she was not aware of any similar robberies in the Arvada area recently.
The Burger King is in a shopping plaza that also includes a grocery store, a hair salon, several other restaurants and a dentists’ office.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
