Denver police are still trying to figure out what prompted a man to walk into a chic Cherry Creek North boutique, wave a gun and then shoot himself in the head.
The incident happened at about 10:30 Monday morning. The man, whom police had not yet identified Monday evening, entered Alicia, The Boutique on East Third Avenue and showed the shopkeeper a gun. The shopkeeper, who was the only person working in the store at the time, ran out of the boutique. As she fled, police said, she heard a single gunshot.
Police discovered the man inside with a gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Detectives classified the death a suicide but were still trying to piece together the rest of the story. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said it was unclear whether the man intended to rob the store, which sells high-end clothing, handbags and jewelry, or whether he had another intention.
“Right now we don’t know who he is or what his motivation was for what he did,” Jackson said. “Those are things we’re trying to figure out with a thorough investigation.”
After the shooting, police blocked off Third Avenue for about an hour. Through the boutique’s large front windows, detectives could be seen inside milling about, placing evidence markers on the ground between racks of designer dresses and purses.
Lonnie Tyler, who works next door to Alicia at Elizabeth Lindsay Creations, said she was in the back of the shop when the incident occurred. She said she heard what sounded like a hammer pound on the wall, but she didn’t think anything of it until she saw police gathered outside.
Along the sidewalk, employees of neighboring stores gathered to watch the commotion.
“This is scary” said Meltem Yilmazturk, who works at a clothing store a few doors down. “I’ve been here 12 years and we’ve never had a robbery. This is not the area for that.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com.
