A soon-to-be-discharged Fort Carson soldier was shot to death early Saturday while he was walking his dog near his motel along Interstate 70 in Denver, police said Monday night in their first characterization of the crime.
Monday afternoon the Denver medical examiner’s office said the man was Anthony Silva, 25, who was killed by multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses at the nearby Motel 6 where he was staying on Paris Street south of Montbello said Saturday they heard five to seven shots.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said more information will be made public today.
Silva was a sergeant stationed at Fort Carson.
He was staying at the Denver motel, waiting for a family member to arrive and accompany him home to Illinois, according to his hometown newspaper, the Monroe County Independent.
Records show Silva is originally from Columbia, Ill., but his most recent address is in the Pacific Hills Point Apartments in Colorado Springs.
A call to his parents’ home Monday afternoon was not immediately returned.
Silva’s body was found at the north end of the 3800 block of Paris Street.
Witnesses at the motel Saturday said they saw three men on the street who appeared to be horsing around, until gunfire erupted.
Family friend Tom Vogt lamented Silva’s death Monday.
“Tony was a fun-loving, always-smile type of guy,” he said in an e-mail.
Vogt said he had heard Silva was staying at the motel awaiting a ride back to Illinois because he was having trouble flying his cat and dog out of Denver.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
