Gun Battle Between 2 Brothers Injured 3 in LoDo: Police

DENVER, CO – Two brothers shooting at each other caused an early-morning panic near a taco truck, and seriously wounded a female bystander in Denver's LoDo neighborhood early Sunday morning, police reports reveal.

Police arrested brothers Armando Durete, 35, and Nickie Rico, 37. Rico was one of three people wounded in the shootout around 2:30 a.m. near 15th Avenue and Market Street. Rico was shot in his hand and leg. A woman was shot in the stomach and was taken to a hospital. She was in critical condition Sunday morning, police said. A third person wounded was not named.

Witnesses said an argument began between people standing beside a taco truck. A witness told police she saw a man, described as a black male with shoulder-length hair, holding a black gun in his hand, a police affidavit said. Police said Durete fit that description. Police have not released booking photos of Durete or Rico because the investigation is still ongoing, they said.

"All of a sudden, we heard probably 30 shots or so break out," Pierce McKenna, an employee of Oskar Blues, told KDVR. "We looked down Market Street and saw everybody running and screaming."

Surveillance video from the P.F. Chang's restaurant at 1415 15th Street showed a man fitting Durete's description dropping something behind a brick pillar in the parking lot, police reports said. The object was a black Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun, police said. Officers arrived and took Durete into custody.

Rico was found by police next to a Buick Lucerne parked in the same lot, the affidavit said. He had been shot. Police recovered a "semi-auto handgun" from the front seat of that car, and a 40-caliber handgun from underneath the Buick.

A third person, who was not named in the affidavit was also injured in the melee. Police tested the hands of all three for gunshot residue, reports said.

Durete and Rico are both being held in Denver County Jail. They face charges of attempted first-degree murder and assault.

Image via Shutterstock

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