Five Points Random Shootings Spark Community Meeting

Picture a picnic table in Russell Square Park. The plates are still warm. The potato salad hasn’t even set yet. Then, a car rolls by, windows down, and the afternoon turns into a memory for a 43-year-old woman who was just trying to enjoy the sun.

That’s the specific, shattering reality that has neighbors in Five Points and Cole gripping their steering wheels a little tighter than usual. It wasn’t a gang war. It wasn’t a targeted hit on a rival crew. It was randomness. And it’s rattled north Denver.

Three people died in seven days. A woman at an Easter picnic. An 18-year-old who fired back and didn’t make it. A man walking his dog, killed simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here’s the thing though: we like to think violence is personal. We like to believe that if you’re shot, you probably owed someone money or were involved in some drama. But this? This is different. This is the kind of violence that makes you check your blind spot twice.

Denver City Councilman Darrell Watson called it “heartbreaking” in an interview Wednesday, and he’s not exaggerating. He’s scheduled a community meeting for Thursday night. The goal isn’t just to mourn. It’s to figure out how to stop the bleeding. Watson wants residents to hear directly from the Denver Police Department (DPD) about what’s happening. He wants them to know that steps are being taken.

“Clarity and communication from my office and from DPD that the neighborhood was safe” is what Watson says is needed. And honestly, that’s a fair ask. When a vehicle circles a park and starts shooting, you don’t feel safe. You feel like you’re in a war zone.

The Easter Sunday incident at Russell Square Park, right at the corner of Vine Street and East 37th Avenue, was chaotic. A few dozen people were gathered for a picnic. Shots rang out from a vehicle circling the perimeter. People in the crowd fired back. The 43-year-old woman died from crossfire. Authorities determined she was accidentally shot by someone in the park firing toward the car in self-defense. She wasn’t the target. She was just there.

Then came the 18-year-old. He was shot at the party and died on April 12. The Denver District Attorney’s Office decided not to charge the person who shot the woman, ruling it an accident. Charges for other crimes, possibly weapons-related, are still possible. Police are still hunting for the people in that vehicle. They haven’t even confirmed if the shot that killed the teenager came from the car or the park. It’s a mess.

And then, just to make sure the nerves stayed frayed, a man walking his dog down a sidewalk in Five Points was killed last week. Unrelated event. Random. Just bad luck.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas told The Sun that he understands why this feels so scary. “Most of our shooting incidents are not random at all. They’re actually very t...” (The quote cuts off in the source, but the implication is clear: this isn’t the usual turf war. This is different.)

Watson is pushing for heightened patrols. Residents are asking for answers. Why here? Why now? What’s the strategy?

The community meeting on Thursday night is the first step. It’s a chance to offer condolences, sure. But it’s also an opportunity to demand more than just press releases. It’s a venue to see if the police can actually deliver the safety people are begging for.

Because when you’re walking your dog, you shouldn’t have to wonder if a car is circling the block. You shouldn’t have to worry that a stray bullet from a picnic gone wrong will take you out. That’s the fear. That’s the reality. And it’s not going away until the shots stop.

The food is still on the tables in Russell Square. The dog walkers are still out. But the feeling of safety? That’s gone. And it’s going to take more than a meeting to bring it back. It’s going to take patrols. It’s going to take clarity. And it’s going to take time.