Vincent Frank
The Denver Nuggets had just won their first NBA title late Monday night with a Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat.
The 94-89 win led to major celebrations inside Ball Arena and neighboring areas. Unfortunately, an all-too common scene also unfolded roughly a mile from where Nikola Jokic earned the Finals MVP award, and the Nuggets hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
A mass shooting took place just hours after the Denver Nuggets defeated Miami. The gunfire was reported at the 20000 block of Market Street where hundreds of fans had gathered to celebrate the franchise’s first title. The location was about a mile from Ball Arena. Nine bystanders were shot as was the suspect, which authorities had in custody. It took place around 12:30 AM local time.
“As far as what led up to this altercation that resulted in the shots being fired, that’s still under investigation at this time,” a police spokesperson told TMZ Sports. “It did occur in the area where we had largest gathering of folks celebrating during the night.”
Police say that three of the victims are in critical condition. The rest are “believed to have non-life-threatening injuries.”
The Denver Nuggets are planning for their championship parade on Thursday. Obviously, this will be on the minds of authorities as they attempt to protect those attending the parade.
According to CNN, this is at least the 291st mass shooting in the United States thus far this year. Mass shootings are defined as incidents in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are injured.
