Denver police are investigating the deaths of two men early Wednesday at an apartment complex on the city’s east side.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the incident happened between 2:30 and 3 a.m. in the 1400 block of Xenia Street, where a man was pronounced dead.
A second man was transported to a hospital, where he died, police said. Authorities have not identified the victims or a suspect or suspects.
Homicide investigators combed a first-floor unit at the Xenia Village Apartments, a complex run by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Residents said most of the people living in the building are homeless or retired. Twenty-four residents in the apartments are homeless.
Retiree John Young, 68, who has lived in the building for seven years, said he awoke in his second-floor apartment around 3 a.m. to the sound of a woman’s screams.
“I heard a girl screaming, ‘Help! Help!’ ” Young said.
Young said a friend who goes by the name “Red” went downstairs to help and call police.
Residents of the building said the unit where investigators were focusing was home to a man named John. His nickname is “Old School.”
“He was always sitting outside talking to everyone,” said Frank Romero, 56. “He was a really nice guy.”
Neighbor Lindsey Blake, 36, said John has been engaged to get married to a woman in California. A much younger man whom John had identified as his nephew recently began living with him, Blake said.
She said John was injured in 2013 when he and two other people were hit by a car while waiting at a bus stop.
“He was one of the people standing at the bus stop,” Blake said.
A man named John Shoeboot suffered severe injuries in an October 2013 crash on East Colfax Avenue when pieces of the bus bench impaled his legs.
Katherine Dewey, 64, who lives across the street, said violence in the area seems to be a common occurrence. “It’s getting to be commonplace,” she said.
