A 28-year-old man was arrested Sunday after a fight over a bench escalated into a shooting in Denver’s Washington Park, where hundreds of people had gathered to enjoy the break from wintry weather, police said Monday.
Ryan Egelston is being held in Denver’s Downtown Detention Center on investigation of attempted first-degree murder in connection to the Sunday shooting, according to .
Egelston got into a fight with another man in the park around 2 p.m. Sunday after the man asked if he could share a park bench with Egelston, according to an arrest affidavit released by the Denver Police Department.
Witnesses told investigators that Egelston spat on the man, pushed him in the chest and punched him in the lower back, according to the affidavit.
The man was walking away with his bike when Egelston allegedly pulled out a gun and shot at him. Egelston didn’t hit the man, but police said the bullet punctured one of the bike’s tires.
About 90 seconds later, Egelston shot at a second, unrelated victim from behind, striking him near the jaw, according to the affidavit. Witnesses told the Denver Post on Sunday that the bullet entered the man’s neck and went out his face.
“At no point did the second victim and (Egelston) appear to have any sort of disagreement or altercation prior to the shooting,” Denver police officials said in the arrest affidavit.
Paramedics took the victim, who has not been publicly identified, to the hospital and Denver police officials said he is expected to survive.
Egelston fled the scene and, after a short police chase, was arrested just blocks away near East Kentucky Avenue and South Downing Street, Denver police said.
The 28-year-old appeared in Denver County Court on Monday morning for an advisement hearing but has not officially been charged, according to court records. His next court appearance has not been scheduled.
