Adams County deputies are getting solid leads in the Halloween night shooting of a 16-year-old boy who was killed while running an errand for his family.
“We are following up numerous leads,” Sgt. Candi Baker, a spokeswoman for the Adams County Sheriff’s office, said this morning. “If we could keep the leads coming it will help find who did this.”
Jose Aranda, a freshman at Hidden Lake High School, was riding in the back of a bicycle near West 76th Avenue and Turner Drive when someone in a black pickup truck fired three shots at him at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, witnesses said.
The truck sped away afterward, witnesses said.
Authorities have not eliminated the possibility that Jose Aranda’s shooting was gang-related, according to Baker.
“Until we identify a suspect we won’t know the motive,” Baker said.
Martin Aranda, who identified his son as a victim, said he believes it was motivated by gang activity. He said his son was not a gang member but had friends who were linked to gangs.
Jose Aranda started attending Hidden Lake the day before the shooting. His father said he sent his son to get milk when he was shot. Baker said he purchased two dozen eggs at a 7-Eleven and was returning home when he was shot.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
