One young man is dead and another was clinging to life Sunday night after a drive-by shooter attacked a west Denver house party.
People who were at the party said guests leaving the house on Stuart Street shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday were involved in a fight about a half block away with people who weren’t at the party.
Then a vehicle rolled by the house, and about four shots were fired as men and women in their 20s were talking on the front porch, witnesses said.
One man fell in the front door. Another collapsed on the porch.
A third man was hit. Bullets shattered glass, and a woman suffered cuts.
“There are a lot of crazy people out there,” said Andreas Morales, 69, who owns the house, pointing to the porch where the men fell. Morales was out back, picking up bottles, when he heard the shots, he said.
“It’s my house. I feel really sad. Here in this area there are not many problems with the people,” he said.
Most of the guests, including the wounded men, were in their early 20s, he said. A 19-year-old girl, who had minor injuries and asked not to be named, said residents, who were cooperating with Denver police, believe the shots were fired from a gray vehicle carrying people in their 30s who were involved in the fight.
“It was a fight out by the stop sign. We are pretty sure that the people who fired the shots were the ones who started the fight. They were older people, like, in their 30s,” she said.
Denver police said they were talking with witnesses after responding to a call from the scene at 59 Stuart St. at about 2 a.m. Sunday. Police issued a statement saying they found three victims who appeared to be suffering from gunshots. “Police are investigating what led up to the shooting,” the statement said.
No suspect information was released. The medical examiner’s office will release the identity of the deceased, the police statement said.
Three victims were taken by ambulance to a hospital, where one was pronounced dead, police said.
A 36-year-old homeowner down the block, who asked not to be identified, said he was awake and heard the party and a shot.
“A car zoomed down this way. It was a drive-by. Then I heard screaming. A girl said: ‘My cousin got shot! Call an ambulance!’ … It’s scary.”
