While Denver police were investigating a fight in a commercial area near the University of Denver campus early Saturday, two men in a car drove by and fired in their direction.
Nobody was struck by bullets. Officers caught the two drive-by suspects after chasing the fleeing car and stopping it by intentionally causing an accident.
That was followed by a standoff in a residential neighborhood that ended with the arrest of the pair shortly before 4 a.m.
Police also arrested several other suspects connected to the initial fight that may have led to the drive-by shooting, according to Detective John White, a Denver police spokesman.
Police responded to a confrontation near the Pita Jungle restaurant near DU in the 2200 block of South University Boulevard at 3:51 a.m., White said.
While officers were interviewing suspects in the fight, a car with two people inside drove by and shots were fired, striking a building near the officers and suspects, he said.
“We’re not saying they were shooting at the police officers,” White said.
Police chased the suspects and, near South Dexter Street and East Girard Avenue, the patrol car rammed the fleeing vehicle and forced it to stop, White said.
The two suspects jumped out of the car and ran away, he said.
K-9 units and SWAT team members searched for the suspects, he said.
Police arrested the two shortly afterward, White said. None of the police officers fired guns.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
