Pro-Cop Demonstrator Shot and Killed at Denver Rally, Police Investigating as a Homicide
Gunfire rang out as protesters raged in Denver on Saturday, leaving one person dead.
The dead man was participating in a pro-police “Patriot Rally,” according to Fox News.
Initial reports suggested the pro-police demonstrator could have been shot by a member of an opposing group, however, police later said that was not so.
“Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa,” the Denver Police Department tweeted.
Update: Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 11, 2020
KUSA-TV of Denver said that the individual taken into custody after the shooting was a security guard employed by the station, which calls itself 9NEWS.
“The private security guard in custody was contracted through Pinkerton by 9NEWS,” the station said.
“It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests.”
A producer for the station was also taken into custody but later released, according to KUSA.
“There was a verbal altercation that transpired. A firearm was discharged,” said Joe Montoya, Denver Police chief of investigations, according to Fox. “An individual was shot and later pronounced deceased. There were two guns recovered at the scene.”
WARNING: The following video and tweet contains images that some viewers may find offensive:
A video from the scene showed a tense moment where anger was running high. In the video below, the actual shooting takes place off screen, but another man is seen cursing loudly before the gun goes off.
Important context: man in “Black Guns Matter” shirt urges conservatives to mace him. “F*ck around and find out,” he says. Another man shoots the victim off screen during the altercation. pic.twitter.com/hzPC1gmQvO
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 11, 2020
Moment of the Denver shooting. Aftermath posted below (GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING!)
(GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING!)
(GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING!)
(GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING!) pic.twitter.com/oYk8A4DjLy— Austin Frisch (@Austin_Zone) October 11, 2020
According to the Denver Post. the individual who was shot had sprayed Mace at another man. The man who was sprayed then shot the Mace user.
Two guns and a Mace can were later found at the scene of the shooting, police said.
Police were on the scene to separate rival groups.
“There was a large presence because we had two groups with opposing views, and we know that can always get very tense,” Montoya said, according to Fox.
“There’s always potential for violence, we understand that. We had a large contingent there to try to watch the egress of one group, so that the other group wouldn’t intermingle with them, so that’s the reason for the large presence there.”
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