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Downtown Denver residents demand safety measures after deadly parking lot shooting

Residents of the Fitzgerald Apartments say a deadly shooting at a nearby parking lot this weekend is part of a long-standing safety problem they've been trying to fix.
Downtown Denver residents demand safety measures after deadly parking lot shooting
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DENVER — Residents of The Fitzgerald Apartments in downtown Denver are calling for increased security at a nearby parking lot after a deadly shooting early Saturday morning.

Denver police say a fight between two groups left one man dead and two others wounded at the 19th Street and Market Street parking lot across the street from the building.

Watch the video report below:

Downtown Denver residents demand safety measures after deadly parking lot shooting

For resident Alexa Cowen, the news was not a surprise.

"Things happen (here) all the time. We hear things all the time, so we're super desensitized because we're so used to there being an incident in this area," Cowen said.

Denver7 first spoke with Cowen more than a year ago, when four people were shot in the same parking lot. Since then, she says residents have worked with Denver police and lot owners on solutions to crack down on criminal activity — but progress has been slow.

"We've been trying to work with the Parkwell parking lot to increase security measures and do all these things, and they have not taken action on a lot of things that we've requested them to do, and so I wasn't surprised it happened, but I'm very frustrated," Cowen said.

Watch our previous report about the shooting below:

One dead, two injured after shooting in downtown Denver, near 19th and Market

Residents are calling for gated entry and exit points and barriers around the lot. Alyssa Mance, another resident of The Fitzgerald, acknowledged some steps have been taken.

"They did implement a third-party patroller in the lot, so at least they committed to doing that," Mance said.

Denver police data shows aggravated assaults dropped 17.5% in the area.

"At this point, we're at a loss. We don't know what to do. But our building has been hit. People have been involved. We've witnessed things. It's not OK," Mance said.

We reached out to Parkwell about the security measures residents have requested. Parkwell has not responded.

Denver police say the investigation is ongoing and they are still working to identify a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers. Callers may remain anonymous.


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