Man killed during dual protests in Denver
The shooting took place in the courtyard near the Denver Art Museum
On Saturday, a man was killed and a male suspect is in custody following a shooting at two competing protest rallies in Denver, Colorado, authorities said.
The shooting took place in the courtyard near the Denver Art Museum, where a Black Lives Matter and a patriots rally were being held at the same time.
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The incident occurred at 3:37 p.m. following a “verbal altercation,” Division Chief Joe Montoya said at a press briefing Saturday evening. “Two guns and a can of mace was recovered at the scene,” Montoya said.
TMZ provided footage of the encounter that began with a man wearing a “Black Guns Matter” t-shirt involved in an argument with several other protesters, including a man wearing a camo bucket hat. The confrontation suddenly ended when a gunshot was heard and the man wearing the camo hat went down.
According to TMZ, the man who fired the shot is being identified as a security guard. Some are speculating that he was sprayed with mace by the victim in the camo hat.
The victim, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital, was affiliated with the Patriot’s group. His t-shirt read, “BLM You’re f***ing Right Bikers Lives Matter.”
The Denver Police tweeted that the suspect is a private security guard with “no affiliation with Antifa.” They identified the suspect as Matthew Dolloff, 30, who is being held for investigation of first-degree murder in connection to the shooting.
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KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver, verified in statement that the security guard was working for them at the time of the shooting.
“A private security guard who was hired by 9NEWS is the suspect detained by DPD,” the station said in a statement. “It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests.”
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