Littleton shootout between teens leaves one dead, one injured
LITTLETON, Colo. — Fridays typically mean TGIF: a break from the workweek, a time to relax. But it was anything but that Friday night in Littleton.
Police are investigating a double shooting that left one teenager dead and another hurt.
“Tragedy,” neighbor John Williams said. “It’s a sad thing, sad thing.”
While friends enjoyed a festive mood at a house party on South Fox Street, anger boiled over into bloodshed right outside.
“We’ve have had several calls on this, approximately 20 rounds have gone off, can hear lots of screaming in the area,” a dispatcher said on the website RadioReference.com.
“I heard five boom, boom, booms,” neighbor Susan Allen said. “Then I heard a pause, then i heard more.”
Many neighbors heard the violence. One saw it.
“There was a van in the middle of the street, and there, the guy was arguing with people in the van,” said one witness, who asked not to be identified. “I saw (a shooter) take a hit and he just fell.”
When police arrived they found two victims. One, an 18-year-old, was already dead in the gutter. Firefighters brought out a tent to hide the body from the eyes of curious neighbors.
Paramedics worked to save the life of the other victim, a 17-year-old. His shoes and clothing were scattered on the lawn of a neighbor with a gun lying just inches away. His condition is unknown as of Saturday night.
Police haven’t identified either victim and aren’t saying if the shooting is gang-related.
The street was littered with dozens of evidence markers Saturday — evidence of what appears to be a fierce gun battle.
“There were police already taking care of something over there, they ran over here,” said Michael Long, who saw police respond to the scene from a block away. “Two guys ran toward Broadway after that.”
Police chased potential suspects on the ground and in a dark four-door SUV, as neighbors lamented a sad situation on streets they say are normally safe.
“We never had anything this bad,” Williams said. “We’ve had parties get out of hand in this area, never shootings or anything like that.”
A typical Friday night of fun, transformed a neighborhood into a crime scene.
