Denver police continue to search for suspects in an Easter Sunday shooting at a north Denver park that left two people dead and horrified neighbors.
Chief Ron Thomas laid out the latest on the case, along with a string of other shootings that killed five other people earlier this month, in an interview Thursday.
Easter Sunday shooting:
On April 5, Easter Sunday, a group of people — most members of a single family — gathered for a barbecue at Russell Square Park on Vine Street and 36th Avenue.
Shortly before 6 p.m., a black Jeep Cherokee SRT started to drive around the park.
It “got the folks in the park’s attention as they continued to circle,” Thomas said. “I think that there was a confrontation between individuals in the vehicle and individuals in the park that led to the guns being produced and shots being exchanged between folks in the park and folks in this vehicle.”
Police have said that the people in the car tried to provoke a confrontation, including by flashing gang signs, KDVR reported. One or two people stood and shot from the sunroof of the Jeep, which made high-speed turns around the park, according to a police affidavit. The Jeep was stolen, police later said.
A total of 32 gunshots were recorded by a ShotSpotter sensor at 5:56 p.m.
During the shootout, bullets struck two people. A 43-year-old woman, Sharon Ware, died on the scene after being shot in the head by a .223-caliber rifle.
Another victim, 18-year-old Pharrow Ware, died later of his injuries after being shot with a .40-caliber pistol. A redacted police report indicates that he was shot in the abdomen and rushed to surgery.
Sharon Ware was shot by someone in the park group, Thomas said — appearing to be caught in the crossfire. Pharrow Ware is believed to have been shot by someone in the Jeep.
Police arrested a 34-year-old man from the park who was suspected in Sharon Ware’s death. But that person has not been identified and will not face a homicide charge. District Attorney John Walsh’s office determined that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction, according to Thomas.
Thomas said he is “not familiar with all of the grounds with which they made that decision. I just know that the individual who was arrested, we believe that they are responsible for the death of the individual in the park.”
The authorities are still pursuing gun-related charges for that person, Thomas said. A spokesperson for the DA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police found and recovered the vehicle used in the shooting within a few hours of the incident, but they are still seeking the shooter or shooters. Thomas does not believe the parties knew one another, but he said it’s impossible to determine yet.
The vehicle was stolen, police said. It had been “set on fire” in an alley off South High Street. It’s possible that multiple people were shooting from within the car or the park, Thomas said.
“There were quite a few rounds that were shell casings that were recovered of various calibers,” Thomas said.
The city did not use automated license-plate readers to track the vehicle. The city’s Flock Safety network had been shut down a matter of days earlier, and its new Axon network hasn’t yet been activated. But police were able to use other investigative methods to find the vehicle the same day.
“I don't know if had that system still been in place that we would've been able to make discoveries and identifications quicker, but it's certainly possible,” Thomas said.
Other recent shootings
The Easter shooting was just one of several around the city in recent weeks.
April 2: Elijah Hernandez, 19, was fatally shot on the 10100 block of East Virginia Avenue at about 12:30 p.m. Police later arrested Daniel Villegas, 19, on a first-degree murder charge, alleging it stemmed from a money dispute, The Denver Gazette reported.
April 5: Torin Fluker, 26, was fatally shot on the 100 block of South Broadway sometime before 2:30 a.m. Police initially suggested it was a road rage incident, but later wrote that that explanation was “posted in error.” No arrest has been made.
April 7: A Denver man was shot in the neck just after midnight on a Saturday near 18th and Stout streets. The victim, who has not been identified, was riding a scooter at the time. He was stopped at a red light when a stranger in a vehicle threatened him and, a short distance later, shot him, as CBS Colorado reported. The victim was saved by a bystander and medical professionals.
The suspect, Anthony Apodaca, 31, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and released on a $75,000 bond “with maximum home confinement, GPS monitoring, and firearms relinquishment,” CBS reported.
“I would just say that my concern is still that there's an individual who seems prone to violence, who's out on the street,” Chief Thomas said of that case.
April 7: Joseph Frank Martinez, 58, was fatally shot by a Denver police officer after pointing a BB gun during an extended standoff on the afternoon of April 5, police said.
Martinez was carrying the BB gun in the backyard of a home, and someone called 911 to report a man with a gun. Officers believed he was holding a hunting rifle, according to Cmdr. Matt Clark. During an hour-long confrontation, a family member came from inside the home and unsuccessfully tried to take the rifle from Martinez, Clark said. Martinez eventually raised the BB gun and pointed it in the direction of an officer, who “fired multiple rounds,” killing Martinez, Clark said. The incident is being investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and others.
April 9: A shooting on the 1100 block of 32nd Street on April 9 began with a domestic violence incident. Bystanders attempted to help a pregnant woman escape a man, who then allegedly fired a gun at the vehicle, Thomas said. Later, an uninvolved man was walking his dog past the scene when the suspect fatally shot him “for no apparent reason,” Thomas said.
The victim was Alexander Rainer, 37, according to city records. The suspect is 22-year-old Kaylen Stroter, according to KDVR.
It was “completely random,” Thomas said.
April 12: Daiyah Carter, 21, was fatally shot while seated in her vehicle in Green Valley Ranch, near the intersection of East Robins Drive and North Cathay Street, according to police. The shooting was around 10:20 p.m. on April 12. Police have asked for tips to solve the homicide.
Police response
The shootings have drawn a visceral response, especially in north Denver.
“Our family is broken right now,” said Tina Ware, a family member of the Easter victims, as 9News reported. “We’re confused, we’re angry. They were there on a peaceful adventure, enjoying Easter. And now, they’re gone. So we want to know what happened.”
Thomas acknowledged that there had been a spike in violence in the city.
“In the course of a week, we had four fatal shootings with five victims,” he said. But he said that the city’s violent crime was declining overall.
“Last year was a historically low year for homicides. We were still significantly down from where we were in 2024,” he said. The city saw 37 homicides in total last year.
The department would try to take a balanced approach to its response in north Denver, Thomas said.
“We definitely understand that the neighborhood needs to have that sense of safety, and so I do anticipate that there will be an increase in presence. We want to make sure that that doesn't come across as over-policing … because I'm not sure that that actually does increase safety, but I do know that that increases distrust.”
Questions and comments? Reach the reporter: [email protected].
