Footchase Ends In Patio Shooting; Peace Mob Arrives

It Sounds Like A Crazy Story, But It’s True

By Bernadette Kelly

Some people think it’s the police. Not this time. Some people think it’s the gangs. Not this time. A crazy story, but somehow true.

A man from out of town was selling jewelry and watches at the Aurora Mall. Included among his customers were some people who bought a fake Rolex for $600. They realized it was a fake and set him up, having a girlfriend call to meet him at the McDonald’s on 36th and Quebec Street for a purchase, all the while, planning to rob him of his lot.

This rendezvous turned into a chase, ending on my back patio. The “peddler” had jumped the wall of my back patio, seeking a place to hide. It is 10:45 a.m. on a cold, wet May Saturday. I am lying in bed, nursing the pain from a root canal two days before. My boyfriend is in the kitchen, making a sandwich, just a few feet away from the adjacent said patio, in clear view through glass and plexiglass doors. My dogs are barking and making alarm sounds, which generally means there is a cat in the yard or someone is at the door.

I get out of bed asking, “What is going on?” My boyfriend gestures to the patio, with the large knife that he is holding. I see that there is a man there, kneeling. My instinct is “There is a man on my patio, should I be afraid of him?” I see that he isn’t trying to get in or be aggressive. He is signaling to my boyfriend “to call.”

Within seconds, this man is pressed against the door, bracing himself in the doorway, and then several shots are fired, spraying blood and broken glass. I was right there, just on the inside of the door, directly behind the man who was shot.

From the blood and the heat of the broken glass spray, I thought I had been shot. The bullet missed me by inches, hitting my refrigerator, grazing my dog’s leg and ending up in the back of my kitchen.

Six bullets in all

My initial reaction was to open the door and hold the man who had been shot, but my boyfriend yelled at me to go to the basement, which I did. It didn’t seem like I was down there very long before I heard sirens, at which point I came back up to the kitchen.

The police and EMTs were right there, taking care of everything. The man was conscious and answering their questions as they ripped away his clothing, inspecting for entry and exit wounds. He had taken three shots to his stomach, one grazed his chest, leaving a laceration. The shooters had fired six bullets in all, and took off when the chamber was empty.

After several hours and every instance of police coming through my home, in the final silence, I gazed upon my back patio. I found a bloody crumpled up Taco Bell receipt. The victim could have been a vegetarian – bean burritos on Friday. Perhaps the burrito in his belly had somehow deflected the bullets, went my gumshoe theory. Perhaps the man had been saved by the Taco Bell.

Several weeks later, again my dogs are going bonkers. It is a Friday early evening, and in my front yard is a Peace Mob. They explained that they were walking the area, visiting places of recent violence, and taking back the land for God.

While I am not a particularly religious person, after the events of May 9, I welcome any positive energy and activity. They asked if they could pray with me. I said “OK.” They laid their hands on me and in fire and brimstone style, they prayed and offered up the land for God, the Lord, to take back for peace.

As they walked away, I watched them, hundreds of people walking down my block waving Hello and singing songs of Peace. Tears streamed down my face.

I walked to the street, and met some people who were headed back to their cars. I asked them about the event. They gave me a flier and explained that it was a multi-faith gathering, connected with Colorado Ceasefire.

Facing the violence head on

From that information, I marked my calendar for their second march, happening Friday, July 10. We met at the City Park Golf Course parking lot at 26th Avenue and York Street. We headed west along 26th, down to Downing, north to 31st, and then back to the parking lot.

We stopped at areas of recent or frequent violence, knocking on doors, offering PEACE crosses and prayer.

When I first joined Greater Park Hill Community, I interviewed Gladys Bates and Ronnie Bean, Park Hill icons, for Denver’s 100. The mayor at the time had put out a call for nominations of Denver’s 100 best residents on the celebration of Denver’s 100 birthday.

Both nominations were accepted and both women have parted ways with our earthly life in the past few years. Gladys and her husband, Marvin, faced the gangbangers head on during Denver’s so-called “Summer of Violence” in 1993, taking back the neighborhood and telling them to find something productive to do.

These Peace Marches are similar, in visiting areas of recent violence and reclaiming them for good. You have to show the bad that you are not scared, you have not given up, and the beauty and good of our neighborhood shall prevail.

Bernadette Kelly is the secretary of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. To learn more about upcoming Peace Marches and Colorado Ceasefire, go to www.coloradoceasefire.org.