Overview:
After three shooting deaths in one week, residents of Five Points and Cole pressed city leaders for answers at a packed community meeting.
On Thursday, April 16, residents of Five Points and Cole packed the gym at St. Charles Recreation Center for a community meeting after three people were killed in shootings within one week in north Denver.
The gathering, organized by City Councilman Darrell Watson, brought together grieving family members, neighbors, Denver police officials and city staff for an emotional conversation about safety, police presence and what comes next for communities shaken by recent violence.
The shootings included the deaths of two people connected to gunfire at an Easter gathering in Russell Square Park in Cole and a man who was fatally shot while walking his dog in Five Points in what police have described as a random killing.
Watson said the goal of the meeting was to give residents a place to grieve, ask questions and hear directly from police about what is being done to increase safety. He told the crowd that in moments like this, “it’s OK not to be OK,” while urging the community to turn its grief into a conversation about solutions.
The meeting began with remarks from District 2 Commander Carlos Aragon, who shared what police know so far about the recent shootings and said the department has increased patrols in both neighborhoods. Aragon said Denver police have also installed a new camera at Russell Square Park and are working to maintain a visible presence in the area.
“We are actively monitoring that camera now all the time,” Aragon said. “We have upped our patrols around the park and there’s a lot of strategy that is involved when it comes to deploying our resources and patrols and most of those resources are driven by data.”
Still, as the meeting went on, the tone shifted from informational to emotional. Several residents demanded answers from both the city and the Denver Police Department about why the violence had happened and what leaders were doing to prevent more bloodshed.
One of the most moving moments came from Tina Ware, the cousin of the two people killed in the Easter Sunday shooting.
“I am here in honor of those two and to find some answers,” Ware said in a shaky voice. “I’m trying to wrap my mind around (this). The pain, the frustration—our family is broken right now. I’m trying to get a better understanding on how this (happened), and we don’t understand.”
Ware said her family wants answers and wants the neighborhood to feel safe again.
“We are confused and we are angry,” Ware said, tearing up. “We want answers. They were there on a peaceful adventure, enjoying Easter. We are going to keep working and we don’t live down here anymore but we want answers too and we want this to be a safe community too.”
The Easter shooting in Cole has been especially difficult for residents because it happened during what should have been an ordinary holiday gathering.
According to police, a vehicle circled the park and gunfire broke out. People at the gathering fired back. A 43-year-old woman was killed in the exchange, and an 18-year-old man later died from his injuries. Authorities have said the woman was accidentally struck by return gunfire from the park, and police are still searching for the people in the vehicle.
In Five Points, residents have also been rattled by the killing of a man who was walking his dog when he was shot after a nearby domestic dispute spilled into the street. Police later arrested a 22-year-old man in that case.
That randomness came up repeatedly during the meeting, especially from neighbors worried about public spaces that no longer feel safe. One resident told Watson he had narrowly missed the Easter shooting with his two young daughters by about 90 minutes.
“Part of the reason I am here is I have two little girls and we missed that incident for almost about an hour and a half,” the community member said. “Frankly, Darrell, I’m pissed.”
He then asked what the city is doing to make sure there are enough officers on the street, especially as Denver continues to face staffing shortages and budget pressures.
“My question to you is our budget is severely under budget and I am more concerned with how do we anticipate and get more officers on the street?” he asked. “What can you do as a councilman to help fund and professionalize the police in a way where we are able to avoid this going forward?”
Watson responded that he has consistently supported police funding while also backing alternative emergency response programs.
“One of the things as a candidate that ran for city council, I was very clear about, is us fully funding our Denver Police Department and funding alternative responses to police officers as well,” Watson said. “The three years I’ve been in office, every year I’ve provided amendments to make sure that the strength of the Denver Police is funded at the highest level and not reduced.”
He also urged residents to stay engaged in city budget discussions and speak up when police funding is on the table.
“Don’t leave a brother hanging,” Watson said. “Year after year, I am having these budget discussions and having battles with folks who are wanting to cut the Denver Police budget and give it to somewhere else. I will keep fighting and I’ll make sure I’ll keep listening to DPD and the community.”
Police and city leaders tried to balance residents’ fear with broader crime statistics. Watson and Aragon said violent crime in Denver remains lower than in recent years, even with the recent cluster of shootings. City leaders said 2025 ended with 37 homicides citywide, while this year’s total remains below the pace seen by this time in 2024.
“Violent crime has been down in the city and county of Denver,” Watson said. “We’ve been dropping year after year.”
Still, the homicide rate is 50% higher right now as compared to last April, and leaders acknowledged that statistics do little to ease the fear residents are feeling right now.
Aragon said Denver police are increasing patrols in areas affected by the recent shootings and are trying to do so in a way that does not lead to unnecessary contacts or over-policing.
“We rely on community members,” Aragon said. “We have programs like community watch, business watch. We really push out to all the districts to help with that. When we talk about partnership, I really do mean that with the community. We have to be in unison; with partnerships with the community and business, we will be able to solve our problems.”
Even after nearly two hours of discussion, many residents left the meeting still uneasy.
“It doesn’t feel safe to go to the park right now,” one community member said.
Another neighbor from Cole said fear has spread well beyond the scenes of the shootings.
“Things have changed in the city and in this area. It’s at its worst it has ever been and I don’t know why,” the neighbor said. “I have neighbors still posting online and are scared to go outside. I would like to see solutions and I feel like I haven’t necessarily seen that.”
For many in the room, the meeting did not provide closure. But it did make clear how deeply the recent violence has unsettled two neighborhoods already asking what safety, trust and accountability should look like in the days ahead.
