The Denver District Attorney has charged Eugeneo Matthew Hinojosa with attempted murder in the first degree, accusing him of shooting roughly 10 gunshots and hitting two people at a homeless encampment at 17th Avenue and Logan Street on Aug. 21.
Hinojosa was arrested Sept. 12, and he's being held in the Downtown Detention Center as his case goes through court. His arrest was first reported by 9News.
One of the shooting victims, whom police interviewed, "stated he had never seen [Hinojosa] before," according to the arrest affidavit. Another witness interviewed by police identified Hinojosa because she knew him well and had previously lived with him, according to the document.
The arrest affidavit does not say whether Hinojosa lived at the camp but describes him as "transient in the area of North Broadway and Park Ave. West Denver."
According to the document, Hinojosa walked across the street, toward the camp, carrying a gun, and shouting at a woman he had lived with who knew him well about car keys. The woman lived in the encampment and was standing by her tent.
Hinojosa then opened fire, shooting toward the tents, and shot two residents of the camp, according to the affidavit. One man was hit in the leg by a bullet.
"I was in the tent with my sister," Josef Steele, an Army veteran, told Denverite at the time. "I didn't think, I just reacted, just from training. I woke up, I heard where it was coming from and I put as much of my body between the sounds and her as I could. As soon as my leg wrapped around her is when I got hit in the back."
Hinojosa then ran west on 18th Street.
According to the affidavit, Steele got out of the tent and waited for police to arrive.
Police were first alerted to the shooting by a Shot Spotter notification. As officers came to the scene, several people called 911.
Both shooting victims were taken to Denver Health Medical Center.
Police found multiple 9mm casings on the scene.
Mayor Mike Johnston's administration carried out a forced encampment cleanup justified by the shooting.
Hinojosa faces multiple counts, including attempted murder and assault and separate drug charges in an ongoing case.
