Denver police shoot five bystanders after suspect pulled out gun, police say

Police in Denver shot five bystanders when they opened fire into a crowd of people after a suspect pulled out a gun and then allegedly aimed it at authorities.

The incident unfolded early Sunday, just as bars in a bustling part of LoDo, the lower Downtown area about a block away from Coors Field and Union Station, issued their last call for the night, police said Monday. Denver officers were already in the area patrolling at the time when they spotted a man with a firearm, who appeared to be creating a disturbance.

As authorities closed in, the suspect allegedly aimed his gun at them, prompting at least three officers to shoot.

The armed man, who has since been identified as 21-year-old Jordan Waddy, was struck in the gunfire and transported to the hospital with what appeared to be “non-life-threatening injuries.” He’s facing charges including felony menacing and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

According to a probable cause statement obtained by the Denver Post, authorities spotted Waddy “lift up his hoody as though he was armed with a handgun.” It does not appear he fired his weapon at this time.

A 10 mm handgun was recovered at the scene.

Another five people — two men and three women — were also struck in the chaos and subsequently hospitalized, police said. They are all expected to survive their wounds.

“Investigators are working to determine whether their injuries were a direct or indirect result of the officer-involved shooting (indirect could be from ricochet or shrapnel,)” according to the press release.

As of Sunday night, all but one of the bystanders and Waddy had been released from hospital, DPD spokesperson Doug Schepman told the Denver newspaper.