About 50 people gathered near Five Points on Thursday to celebrate the 23rd birthday of Bruce Harrell, a victim of an unsolved gang shooting, and to ask witnesses to break the code of silence.
“Every day, every day I struggle. I have no life anymore,” cried his mother, Dianne Harrell. “Someone out there knows what happened, and they should have the courage to come forward, to stand up and tell us.”
Harrell was killed the night of Jan. 11, 2006, while picking up a friend at 30th and Welton streets after attending a Denver Nuggets game. Thursday’s gathering was held at that location.
“There are individuals out in the community who know what happened,” District Attorney Mitch Morrissey told the crowd.
Joining Dianne Harrell were mothers of other shooting victims, including Cathy Maestas, whose son Geronimo was killed for his Broncos jacket in 1993; Sherry Levias, whose son, Kurt, was shot coming from a concert in 2004; and Sharletta Evans, mother of 3-year-old Casson, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1995.
As the gathering closed by singing “Happy Birthday” to Harrell, his mother cried. She needed help releasing a bouquet of red- and-white helium-filled balloons.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
