Personal Tragedy

[Windwalker]

Redhed, sorry to hear of your loss and I commend you for encouraging others to protect themselves and their loved ones by carrying if you have CCW. Your pistol at home in a drawer doesn't help when you are confronted on the street. You are all in my prayers.

[SwedeSteve]

Such a tragedy. My heart goes out to you and yours.

[Deersniper]

So sorry for your loss, this could of been prevented. May God's angels surround you and yours. If this country would enforce the laws, we would be safer. That ain't right.

[Cyrano]

I'm terribly sorry for your loss, redhed. Here's hoping the Denver police catch the bastard really soon.

[big boomer]

Dear Red Sorry for your loss and I know how you feel my cousin was murdered. He was killed by the blunt object you always hear of. I am sure if he had been carrying he would still be with us. They think he knew his killer. The killer stole his car and left it out in the middle of nowhere. The police are 95% sure of who did it but no proof so he got off Scott free. I only hope they get the one in your case. Once again I wish better times for you and yours. yours truly Bigboomer

[JASON6969]

a senseless tradgedy my prayers for you and your family

[neophyte]

redhead: Ma'am for you, your family and friends; prayers are being said.

[CrazyIvan]

Red:

I am really sorry to hear about this. I read about this the other day.

Is his name Carl? I won't post any news links here, because it gives his full name and not sure if you want that out there, but anyway...

If his name was Carl, he was gunned down near the State Capitol. It was about 3:40a.m. when Police were called.

That part of town is definitely not where you want to be after-hours in the dark, alone. Not sure why he would be out there at that time...maybe taking a walk. Did he have a dog? Perhaps the perp took the dog if he did. There is a park near there, Cheeseman park. Though all city parks close at 11pm, people often go in after hours. Police will chase you out if they find you, though. He could have been heading to or from there or maybe to/from his car to/from his apartment. The aptartments down there don't have much in way of private parking, so you often have to walk a block or two from where you parked to get to your apartment. Only other thing going on in that area at night is drug trafficking, which it doesn't sound like he is part of.

Sounds like he was mugged, plain and simple.

I definitely agree with the statements here about being armed. ESPECIALLY when going downtown at night. The nightlife in Denver is not like any other. The city goes quiet and scary at night. Businesses close, traffic ceases to almost non-existent. The bars close up around 2am on Friday and Saturday night. After that, the streets are run by criminals, prostitutes, pimps and members of drug trade. Not a place to be for a good-willed person.

I'm not trying to paint Denver as a horrible place, but at night, you really are opening yourself to becoming a victim because of the seclusion and lack of anyone around. And like roaches, when the lights go off, the criminals will come out of their holes. And, I would say about 95% of anyone found out & about downtown around there at that time of day is up to no good.

Again, sorry for your loss. I'll try to keep up on the story and let you know if I see anything locally reported.

[redhed]

Thank you, Ivan. That is my nephew you read about. We don't know what he was doing there. I too seriously doubt it was drug related knowing my nephew. Please PM me with that link. I have been trying to find it in the Denver Post with no luck.

Thank to all the great folks out there in G&G. Your support is truly appreciated.

I'm having a real hard time dealing with this, as is my family. Ouch and I tend to be our family's sheep dogs and one of our flock has been murdered.

I should have added that if you live in a state that is trying to strip our second amendment rights from us, please step up and urge your respective representatives to support CCW in your state. I intend to become an advocate in our area. I can't help but believe that if my nephew had been armed, he MIGHT have stood a chance against his assailant. I'll never know, and neither will his family.

Once again, don't be a victim. Be safe. If you can carry, please do.

[GDawg]

Red,

I'm so sorry to hear that. I found the link to the story too. Like Ivan said, that's not the best area of town. I used to work a couple blocks from there. There is a lot of gang activity in areas of Denver.

[redhed]

If anyone has a link to this article, would you please PM it to me? I'm grasping for answers to questions that probably will remain unanswered. My nephew was no saint, but he was loved. No matter what, he didn't deserve to be shot down in the street and left to die on a sidewalk.

The people of Denver deserve better than this. Where is the law enforcement and why haven't they cracked down on the high crime areas?

[GDawg]

Originally Posted by redhed

If anyone has a link to this article, would you please PM it to me? I'm grasping for answers to questions that probably will remain unanswered. My nephew was no saint, but he was loved. No matter what, he didn't deserve to be shot down in the street and left to die on a sidewalk.

The people of Denver deserve better than this. Where is the law enforcement and why haven't they cracked down on the high crime areas?

Actually the police do patrol that area pretty well. But there are a lot of places to hide down there. Downtown area is a mixture of high rises, old structures and parks. It's a very hilly area so between the buildings and the hills it can be a very scary place at night.

I'm sending you the link to the article. It's not a very long article.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by redhed

If anyone has a link to this article, would you please PM it to me? I'm grasping for answers to questions that probably will remain unanswered. My nephew was no saint, but he was loved. No matter what, he didn't deserve to be shot down in the street and left to die on a sidewalk.

The people of Denver deserve better than this. Where is the law enforcement and why haven't they cracked down on the high crime areas?

Red,

I sent you a PM.

As far as law enforcement...they can be found out in mass before the bars close. In LODO (Lower Downtown), they are seen in many groups of 5-10 walking up & down the streets. This is simply to secure the city's tax income on the liquor sales.

However, after closing time, they scatter and are nowhere to be seen, other than the occassional patrol car.

The police are in Mayor Hickenlooper's pocket in Denver. All area police officers in Denver and from all the cities surrounding Denver have been going to DNC (Democratic Nat. Convention) training. I know this from personal friends who are Police Officers and Deputy's. The talk shows have been highlighting the gang activity at night downtown, but the politicians refuse to do anything about it. They would rather ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. God forbid if they scare anyone from visiting Denver for the DNC. Rather than secure the streets, they want to insure income from visitors to the DNC and furthered tourist activity to the city and buyer activity along the famous 16th Street Mall.

Hickenlooper is a businessman, and that is all he cares about. He couldn't care less about social and community issues in the city.

[redhed]

Thanks GDawg and Ivan.

Sad to think my nephew thought he was moving to a better environment than LA.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by redhed

Thanks GDawg and Ivan.

Sad to think my nephew thought he was moving to a better environment than LA.

Well I will say that I am sure it is better than LA, and there are parts of the Front Range which are awesome places to live. But, Downtown Denver is not one of them... I will never again live within the City Limits of Denver. The politicians in Denver on both sides are a joke. Firearm laws in Denver are a joke. Public establishments and laws surrounding them are a joke.

Here is an example...

The people of Denver voted to approve construction of the new Football Stadium. The voters approved of public taxation to help fund the construction and upkeep of the stadium. This makes the stadium a public establishement. Now, the private investors and owners have a "Policy" that does not allow anyone to bring firearms onto the premesis, even if they carry it legally (CCW). State Law says you can take a firearm into any public building, unless it has in-place weapons/security screening or is a location where the members of the government do business (congressmen, senators, city council, etc...). However, the city allows this public establishment to implement privatized policies on "Gun Free Zone."

This is simply politically inclined and the Mayor's interest in protecting the citizens of Denver to their Constitutionally Granted Rights does not exist.

Now, that said...there is not any security screening at the gates of the football stadium, so you could carry into the building if you wanted to, but you aren't supposed to. All they can do if they find you have a weapon is ask you to leave, though.

[Jersey Jailer]

My deepest heart felt condolences, you'll be in my prayers.

[GDawg]

I'd like to add something more here Red... Denver is a beautiful city. But like most big cities, it has it's problems. People come to Colorado and Denver in particular thinking they are in heaven. It does look like heaven but the demons are out there too. Just one year ago I worked in downtown (Ground Zero). 16th and Broadway. 15th street is Colfax and used to be the scum of the city right next to the capital. It's a little better now but not much when the streets are rolled up. I used to have to park at 19th street so I only paid $6.00 a day for parking as opposed to $12.00 a day. I used to get into work early and in the winter months it was still dark that early. I always looked over my shoulder as I walked three blocks to my building. Lots of zombies out when it's dark. I'm sure your nephew was probably not out looking for drugs and maybe not jogging but in the early hours of the morning downtown Denver is breath taking. I'm sure that's what lured him out but if only he had a gun with him to protect him from the evil that lives in the shadows there.

Here are some pictures from 16th street and Broadway. It is very beautiful.

God bless your nephew and I'm sorry this had to happen...

GDawg

























I know the pictures of my office are unimportant. I just wanted you to see the dream that exists there.

[PONTIACDM]

Sorry for the loss, you are in my prayers.

[redhed]

gdawg, thanks for sharing the pictures. I stand by my statement that God was in a good mood the day he made Colorado. I have been through the state three times and visited Denver once and I am in awe of it's majesty and grandeur. The people are good, decent folks, who like folks everywhere are trying to get by in these modern hard times.

Denver's problems are no worse than any other big city's. The fact that these pockets of violence exist within our cities is our society's cry for help. We have to start listening.