Denver police arrested two boys on suspicion of first-degree murder after detectives said they shot and killed a 33-year-old man in Sunnyside.
Investigators believe Christopher Nabors confronted the boys, who are 12 and 14 years old, after he found them either breaking into or trying to steal his vehicle in the 4300 block of North Pecos Street on June 30.
The boys, who have not been publicly identified because they are juveniles, were arrested by Denver Police Department officers on July 1 after police spotted them in a stolen vehicle and they fled when officers tried to pull them over.
Denver police also accused the 14-year-old of being involved with a shooting about 15 minutes before the Sunnyside shooting, when the teen and two other juveniles shot a fourth juvenile near Park Avenue and East 20th Avenue. The juvenile victim was injured but survived, agency officials said.
Detectives are still investigating a homicide that happened under the same circumstances in the 15000 block of East Olmsted Drive in the early hours of June 24.
Jacob Lopez, 19, was killed in that shooting, according to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.
Following the deaths of Nabors and Lopez, Denver police warned the public against confronting would-be car thieves.
“We offer this warning, in no way to shame the victims for their attempts to protect their vehicles, but to bring awareness to this disturbing trend and to encourage everyone to call 911 if they see something suspicious or a crime in progress,” Chief Ron Thomas said in a statement on July 2. “The brazen actions of these suspects go against the fiber of our community, and our investigations teams are working to identify and arrest them.”
