Facebook invites lead to unwanted guest, shooting in Westminster

Police arrive on the scene of an early-morning shooting in Westminster on Sept. 3, 2012, that left one man injured at a party.

WESTMINSTER, Colo — Police are looking for an uninvited guest who opened fire during an early morning Labor Day party.

Westminster police said the incident happened around 1:15 a.m. in the 7100 block of Eaton Street. According to officials, the party’s host sent an invitation to friends on Facebook. That invitation was forwarded a few times, leading to some unwanted guests showing up.

When the host asked those individuals to leave, investigators say one person pulled out a gun and started shooting. A man was hit, and right now authorities say he’s at the hospital in stable condition.

Police were still searching for the gunman Tuesday.

Though many parties are listed on public “event” pages, Facebook has settings that allow users to make private event pages private. When made private, those pages are not accessible to any user who does not receive an invitation from the event page’s creator.