A 16-year-old was killed Wednesday night at an Aurora hotel and four suspects, including three juveniles, have been arrested in the case.
The shooting happened at 7:05 p.m. at the Quality Inn, 3300 Ouray St., near the swimming pool area, according to police. The teen victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Three others were wounded.
Officers found two women, ages 20 and 19, who had been shot, and they were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said. A fourth person shot at the hotel “self-transported” to a hospital.
Shortly after the shootings at the hotel, a 911 call was made about a person being shot at Chambers and East Smith roads, police said. Officers contacted three juveniles and and 18-year-old man who was suffering from a gun shot wound. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Officers determined that the three juveniles, and the man who was shot, were suspects in the hotel shooting, police said. The juveniles were taken into custody on Wednesday night and the man who was shot was held after he was released from a hospital on Thursday afternoon.
All four suspects are being investigated for first-degree murder, police said. The juveniles were not identified Thursday. The 18-year-old suspect who was shot is Rafael Bergeron Martinez, of Westminster.
“I want to highlight the exceptional teamwork that these arrests represent,” said Aurora Chief Vanessa Wilson in a news release. “Our officers and detectives from patrol, the Gang Unit and the Major Crimes Homicide Unit worked quickly to apprehend” the suspects.
District Attorney Brian Mason noted that the victim killed at the hotel was a teen, and that three of the four suspects are teens and the fourth a young adult. The victims at the hotel were also young adults.
“Last night, our community was, once again, shaken by the news of gun violence involving young people,” Mason said in the release. “A 16-year-old is dead, and several others are hurt as a result of this mass shooting. This is yet another horrific case of a teen losing their life because too many young people have easy and unsupervised access to firearms.”
The Adams County Coroner’s Office will release the deceased victim’s name after positive identification and family notification.
Anyone with information on the shooting, or on suspects, is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 (STOP).
