Police in Denver have arrested a man in connection with a shooting late Wednesday that left two women dead at an apartment complex off Parker Road in the southeast part of the city.
Jose Gabriel King, 22, was arrested by the Castle Rock Police Department and is being held at the Denver County jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder.
Denver police responded to the shooting around 11:10 p.m. at the French Quarter Apartments on the 3200 block of Parker Road and found the women.
Next-door neighbor Basil Jaddoa heard shots and screams and went next door to see what was going in. He found his neighbor and another young woman sprawled out dead in the apartment, he said.
“They were killed by the door,” Jaddoa said.
Jaddoa said he saw a shirtless man, whom he identified as his neighbor’s roommate who also lives in the apartment where the shooting happened, speeding off in a car after the shooting, flying over a speed bump in the parking lot.
“I just remember hearing seven shots,” said Ashley Larranaga, a neighbor. “I counted.”
The victims were 19- and 22-years-old, Denver police said at a news conference. The suspect was arrested just before midnight in Castle Rock by officers who were searching for him on a welfare check.
“At this time we are still in the early stages of the investigation,” said Cmdr. Ron Saunier.
A Denver police mobile crime lab was at the scene Thursday morning with investigators inside the apartment where the shootings are said to have occurred.
Authorities have not identified the women killed in the shooting, saying the medical examiner will release their names pending notification of next of kin.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jesseapaul
