Two shootings in west Denver this weekend just blocks and hours apart have residents and city officials concerned about an upswing in violence.
“It’s tragic and out of control,” City Councilman Rick Garcia said of the shootings, which left one man dead and another hospitalized on life support.
Residents of the city’s District One near Sloan’s Lake have voiced a “sense of urgency” over the violence, Garcia said. He plans to meet with Denver police Cmdr. Doug Stephens to plan a coordinated response.
“These types of things just frighten people completely,” Garcia said.
On Saturday at about 1 a.m., an unidentified man was fatally shot in the 3200 block of West Conejos Place after an argument over a parking space, police said.
Officials are looking for 20-year-old Andrew Ortiz, who goes by the nickname “Cyco.”
Then on Sunday, 19-year-old John Ozbirn was at a birthday party when he was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting at about 3 a.m. at the corner of Julian Street and West 19th Avenue.
Witnesses told police investigators that the shots that hit Ozbirn came from a white Ford Mustang.
Garcia said that after he meets with Stephens, he plans to hold a community meeting. Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to call Denver police at 720-913-2000, or Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
“People are upset,” Garcia said. “They want to know how these things can happen and what we do about it.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
