A time that should be spent celebrating their first NBA Finals Championship, is instead spent running away from the sound of gunshots. Eleven people were reportedly shot and wounded in a mass shooting that was said to have taken place early Tuesday morning, just hours removed from the Denver Nuggets grinding out a 94-89 win over the Miami Heat. The incident happened approximately a mile away from the Ball Arena—the site where the Nuggets became NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history.
Of the eleven that were shot, nine of them were found & one of them—a male—just so happened to be the suspect that was taken into custody. Additionally, three of the victims were said to be in critical condition. Doug Schepman, a spokesperson for the Denver Police Department, came out with a statement regarding the incident:
“As far as what led up to this altercation that resulted in the shots being fired, that’s still under investigation at this time,” police spokesperson Doug Schepman said. “It did occur in the area where we had the largest gathering of folks celebrating during the night.”
Schepman also stated that a small crowd had gathered at the time of the shooting, but had allegedly “diminished quite a bit at that point”. An extensive investigation is reportedly underway, as multiple witnesses were questioned during the time of the incident.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who unsurprisingly won NBA Finals MVP, led the way by putting up 28 points (12 / 16 shooting), 16 rebounds, four assists.
Prayers to all the victims of the mass shooting. This is absolutely sickening. Nuggets fans have been waiting for forty-seven years to see their favorite team win their first NBA Finals Championship. Nearly five whole DECADES. And now that they’ve finally got it, they can’t even celebrate in peace without something going horribly. Something has to change.