A man wounded by Denver police Wednesday morning probably isn’t Capitol Hill’s “inside-out robber,” as authorities first suspected, because the serial bandit hit again in the same neighborhood later in the day.
The man shot shortly before noon has not been positively identified, but he is still suspected of being a wanted felon on other charges, department spokesman Sonny Jackson said this evening.
The wounded man’s suspected identity and charges were not released, however.
He was not armed but threatened to shoot officers and made a motion as though he was pulling a pistol when two officers shot him multiple times in the lower body, Jackson said.
The man matched the description of the bandit, known for wearing a hoodie inside out during eight Capitol Hill robberies since Sept. 17, including the Supreme Dry Cleaners at 13th Avenue and Race Street at 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, two hours after the shooting.
“We’re not 100 percent sure he’s not the robber,” Jackson said of the wounded man, who is in serious condition at Denver Health Medical Center. “But it wouldn’t appear that he is.”
At 11:54 a.m., police officers approached the man with a strikingly similar description at a Capitol Hill convenience store. The serial robber is tall, thin and is either a dark-skinned white man or a very light-skinned black man, Jackson said.
The man wounded by police is in his late-teens or early 20s. After he was approached by officers, he ran down the street to an apartment building called The Washington at 1375 Washington St., where the shooting happened.
Neighborhood resident Jim Roberts said he saw a uniformed officer and an undercover officer start a conversation with the man.
When the uniformed officer put his hand on the suspect’s arm, the man bolted south on Washington Street. Inside the three-story apartment building, he was trapped in the entry way between the exterior door and a locked security door.
A witness, who would not give his name, said he could see through the oval glass in the exterior door. The man appeared to pull out a “long gun,” he said.
Officers were outside the building, on each side of the door, peeking in.
The man yelled, “I’m going to blow you away,” then motioned as if drawing down at the officers. The witness said he dove to the ground then heard a burst of gunfire.
He saw the suspect rolling around and screaming as he was taken away in an ambulance.
David Medina, who also lives nearby, said he heard at least eight shots after the man had hollered at the two officers, one on each side of the front door.
He said officers yelled back before gunfire erupted.
“I’m amazed he is alive,” Medina said of the suspect. “He was moving his arms up and down, moaning and groaning.”
Jackson said the shooting is under the investigation by Denver District Attorney’s office and the independent monitor, as is standard procedure when police fire their weapons.
Staff writer Joey Bunch contributed to this story.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
