Five people were injured in a shooting early Saturday outside a nightclub in an area south of downtown Denver that has a violent past, police said.
One person remained in critical condition Saturday after the shooting at 1:45 a.m. outside Vinyl nightclub, 1082 Broadway, according to a Denver Health spokeswoman.
The other four people injured were treated and released Saturday morning, she said.
Denver police had few leads Saturday, unsure of what caused the altercation or the identities of the assailants.
Witnesses said the shooting occurred at closing time as people were leaving the venue, which hosted a sold-out concert by Bay Area rap star E-40.
Suddenly, rapid gunfire exploded and patrons scattered.
“It woke me up,” said Amy McCracken, who lives above the club and said the gunshots sounded out in rapid fire. “I jumped up and looked out. There were people running all over.”
At midmorning, McCracken had ventured outside of her home to let out her dogs. The club’s maintenance worker tossed a bucket of water on the sidewalk to wash off the blood.
Gutters along Broadway next to the nightclub had filled with frozen water still red with blood.
“They fight all the time outside the club,” McCracken said. “I knew one day there would be gunshots.”
Kendall Davis works security at the 11th Avenue Hotel near the club and said when he first heard the gunshots he thought it was the sound of a skateboard rolling down the sidewalk.
When he heard a second round of blasts, he knew it was gunfire.
He said he later saw at least four people with gunshot wounds on various street corners.
“There was a guy down here who was bleeding like crazy,” said Davis, pointing to the blood-caked sidewalk at the corner of 11th Avenue and Broadway. “They need to do something about that club with innocent people being shot.”
A bullet lodged in the wall of one of the hotel residences rented by Lorenzo Tenorio, who said a bullet whizzed right over the bed where he was sleeping.
“First I heard two, then three shots, and then one right after another. . . . I lost count,” Tenorio said. “It was like I was back in Vietnam.”
Daniel Kellner followed emergency vehicles from Speer Boulevard to the scene and said he saw one person who had been shot in the leg and another who had been shot in the neck.
“There were shot-out windows, there was blood about every 100 yards,” he said. “I don’t know if people were hit at close range and ran, but it was a pretty wild scene.”
A manager of a bar near the club, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said he often sees police cars outside Vinyl.
“Obviously I don’t want shootings around my bar,” he said.
Vinyl is owned by Regas Christou — whose family maintains six clubs in the vicinity. Christou did not return calls Saturday.
Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman in the past has singled out Christou’s clubs as among the few where he will not allow police officers to provide off-duty security.
“He lost the right to hire any police,” Whitman has said. “It’s not a right. It’s probably a matter of the violence in his clubs.”
Two years ago on New Year’s Eve, an altercation outside of the Shelter — across the street from Vinyl and also owned by Christou — led to the drive-by shooting that killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.
In 2006, Christou’s brother, Christakes Christou, was arrested after shooting a burglar at the nearby Funky Buddah after the club had closed. According to online court records, prosecutors later dismissed the attempted-murder charge and Christou received a deferred sentence on a charge of tampering with evidence.
In 1996, off-duty police officers shot and killed Jeff Truax outside of the Christou-owned club that is now Vinyl.
City records show 14 criminal incidents occurred at Vinyl’s address from January to November, including four cases of aggravated assault that involved weapons. Three of those cases occurred around closing time, according to the report.
City Council President Jeanne Robb, who represents the area where the clubs are located, said Saturday that she is aware of the problems occurring after midnight in the area.
“Of course we’ve been concerned about the violence,” she said. “Five people. This is just awful.”
Robb said neighbors have complained about the number of clubs in the area “and the noise and activity,” she said.
“I know that (police Cmdr. Deborah) Dilley in District 6 is very concerned about these things,” she said. “All I can say is I feel awful about this. As soon as we get more details, we are going to figure out how we are going to address it.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
