Officers were at 20th and Larimer streets around 1:30 a.m. as bars started to close for the night. Officers saw a disturbance that involved an armed man and confronted him, Denver police Division Chief Ron Thomas said in a recorded statement. Thomas said that officers opened fire and shot the man because the man “posed a significant threat.” Thomas did not say how the man posed a threat. If you witnessed this incident or know somebody impacted by it, please call reporter Elise Schmelzer at 303-954-1368 or email [email protected] Officers then became aware of other people in the area who were injured in the incident, Thomas said. He did not say how they were injured or how many people were injured. The suspect in the disturbance as well as others were transported to the hospital. The suspect was in critical condition and the other people were in serious condition, Thomas said in the recorded statement. UPDATE: Briefing by Division Chief Ron Thomas at 20th St and Larimer St. pic.twitter.com/Ej99rccBGu — Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) July 17, 2022 Denver police spokesman Kurt Barnes at 9:30 a.m. Sunday said the investigation into the incident was ongoing and declined to answer questions about how many people were injured, whether they were injured by police gunfire, and whether anyone besides officers fired a weapon. He also declined to provide more details about the disturbance that led to the shooting. “We’re still investigating, we’re still trying to determine how many people were injured,” he said, noting some people transported themselves to hospitals. Officers recovered one gun at the scene, Barnes said. The Sunday shooting is the third time in a week that Denver police officers shot someone. An officer on Friday shot and killed a man authorities said was stabbing his partner. On Wednesday, officers shot and killed a man who they say fired shots at pursuing officers.
