Mass shooting again in the United States leaves 9 people injured in Denver as crowds celebrated a basketball championship win

By Edward Era Barbacena 

At least nine people were injured during a mass shooting in the US city of Denver as crowds gathered to celebrate the Denver Nuggets’ first NBA championship win, police said, adding two men have been taken into custody.

The incident took place on Tuesday night n the 2000 block of Market Street near the intersection with 20th Street as hundreds of fans had packed the area and surrounding streets to celebrate the NBA title, CNN quoted the police as saying.

According to the police, shots were fired from “multiple firearms” during an altercation involving several people.

“Our strong belief is that this is completely unassociated to the celebration,” Police Chief Ron Thomas said.

Instead, police said the shooting may have been drug related.

Large amounts of cash and “a significant quantity of fentanyl pills” were found in the area, according to Denver Police Major Crimes Division Commander Matt Clark.

While Ricardo Vasquez (22) is being held on charges of possession of a weapon by a previous offender and possession of a controlled substance, Raoul Jones (33) is being held on a charge of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, Clark said.

Additional charges may be added as the investigation continues, he said.

Meanwhile, of the nine people shot, five remain hospitalised, CNN quoted Denver Health Medical Center trauma surgeon Eric Campion as saying, adding that all are currently in fair condition.

Tuesday’s incident is among at least 291 mass shootings in the US so far this year in which four or more people were shot, according to the Gun Violence Archive.