One man is dead and a private security guard is in custody after a shot rang out at what is being called a dueling protest in Denver on Saturday. Denver police officials said the victim was allegedly shot by a private security guard. A Denver news station says the suspect is their security guard hired to protect an employee at the rally.
Denver police tweeted they are investigating a homicide that occurred at the Courtyard by the Art Museum in Denver on Saturday afternoon.
ALERT : Officers are investigating a shooting that occurred in the Courtyard by the Art Museum. 1 victim transported to the hospital their condition is unknown, 1 suspect in custody . pic.twitter.com/1F6NuVlv0F
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 10, 2020
Police officials later tweeted an update identifying the alleged shooter as a private security guard.
UPDATE: 2 suspects are now in custody in relation to this shooting .
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 10, 2020
A report by 9News NBC Denver confirms the suspect is a private security guard hired by the station. The local NBC affiliate reports:
A 9NEWS producer and a 9NEWS contractor were taken into custody.
DPD has since said that one of the two people taken into custody was not involved in the incident but was a person of interest at the time. The 9NEWS producer is no longer in police custody and is not a suspect.
A private security guard who was hired by 9NEWS is the suspect detained by DPD. It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests.
A man live-streaming the event captured the moment of the shooting. At about the same time, a cloud of orange mace can be seen and a gunshot heard. The incident happened with police about 25 yards away. Officers quickly responded and took a man believed to be the shooter into custody.
Scene in Denver, CO Antifa/BLM acting belligerent as Police try to control the situation pic.twitter.com/yHB71fcbRS
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) October 10, 2020
A video shows a man wearing a “Black Guns Matter” shirt engaging in an argument with the man who is about to be shot. He does not appear to be directly involved in the shooting. As the victim walks off-camera to the right, the camera operator turns and captures the victim recoiling from the impact of the shot and falling to the ground.
Lead up to the #denvershooting #denverprotests pic.twitter.com/5lMZuPnDap
— Rusty 5D (@rustyyyyy69) October 10, 2020
The Denver Post reports that “a man participating in a ‘Patriot Rally’ that also included a presence of self-described BLM-Antifa protesters, sprayed mace at another man and that man shot him with a handgun.”
Streamer is reporting shots fired on the "militia" side #denverprotests pic.twitter.com/FHmdw28RAf
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) October 10, 2020
In another video, a man near the scene of the shooting yells what sounds like “white supremacist” and then “right in the f*cking dome.”
Antifa/BLM moving on to the capitol, completely un-phased by the violent act that just occurred. Someone yells out "Die fascist scum!" #Denver pic.twitter.com/qWOCO2zOdr
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) October 10, 2020
Story cited here.