What do we know about the shooting following Denver Nuggets’ historic NBA Finals win?
Nothing spoils a moment of joy like the absolute opposite of it: tragedy. Unfortunately, that was the case following the Nuggets’ historic win in the NBA Finals.
On a night when both the franchise and its fans should have been celebrating their first-ever championship, things seemingly got out of hand and ended in violence. With more than one individual now fighting for their life, one can only hope there is a happy ending to this situation.
Nine wounded in a post-championship shooting in Denver
According to reports, nine people were wounded in a shooting during the early hours of Tuesday morning in Denver near Ball Arena, the home of the Denver Nuggets. Of course, the team had just won its first-ever NBA championship after defeating the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but that achievement was overshadowed by the terrible event. As per reports, the shooting occurred approximately three-and-a-half hours after Denver’s historic victory on Market Street in downtown Denver, the area where the largest group of fans had congregated to celebrate the title.
It is understood that a suspect was detained shortly after the incident after the incident. Sadly, what is also understood is that three of the nine victims are currently in critical condition, while the rest appear to have non-life-threatening injuries. Police also indicated that the suspect was shot, which brings the total number of those injured to ten, however, it appears they did not appear to have suffered life-threatening injuries.
What exactly happened?
Though details continue to emerge, what we can understand is that the shooting took place toward the tail end of the downtown celebrations. By that time, there was in fact a smaller crowd in the area according to police, who also indicated that they were able to quickly identify the suspect before taking him into custody. Understandably, there were thousands of fans in the streets following the Nuggets’ win, which in itself is not unusual when teams win a championship and certainly not when it’s their first ever. Yet, the sad reality is that such occurrences have become more commonplace in recent times. As recently as February, a Kansas City police officer was shot following the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory.