1 dead, multiple people hurt in shooting, stabbing at bar

A brawl including gunshots and a stabbing broke out at a Thornton sports bar popular with motorcyclists early Saturday morning, killing one woman and injuring four other people.

By Saturday afternoon, the Extra Point Sports Bar was cleared out and encircled by police tape with two Thornton police officers stationed at the door where bouncers would typically stand guard. A trail of blood splatters dotted the sidewalk outside the West 100th Avenue establishment, but police couldn’t confirm whether the blood was related to the incident the night before.

When Thornton police arrived at the Extra Point Sports Bar around 1:30 a.m., people were fleeing the scene, said police spokesman Ernie Lucero. Officers found one woman and two men with gunshot wounds in addition to the woman who died from the shooting. Another man from the scene later walked into a local hospital with a stab wound.

Investigators were still questioning a person of interest in custody Saturday afternoon but couldn’t confirm whether they were looking for more suspects.

“We’re trying to establish a timeline as to what occurred and when it occurred,” Lucero said. “We can’t tell if there are other suspects or not at this time.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Thornton Police Department at 720-977-5069.

The bar, described by patrons as popular with motorcyclists, posted on its Facebook page that the woman killed was an employee named Brenda. Extra Point, tucked into a strip mall featuring a hair salon and Laundromat

next door, said it would be closed until Monday.

“We Thank each & everyone for your condolences & we Thank you for your support,” the post stated.

Across the street, Gene Ritke was stocking the candy aisle at Deno’s Country Store convenience store and gas station, a few feet from crime scene tape that cordoned off the bar and grill.

Ritke said he knows nearly everyone at the bar from his visits there to chow down on chicken wings and from their stops to buy snacks and drinks.

He was saddened when he heard about Brenda’s death earlier in the day.

“She was the nicest person in the world,” said Ritke, who got to know Brenda during her frequent stops to buy Core water drinks.

“She was always late, and I could see her running in for her shift all the time,” Ritke said.

“When she was running really late, I would go bring her a water because I knew she wanted one,” he said.

Ritke said Brenda was a single mother with a young son. He planned to set a bucket outside the store later in the day to collect donations for the boy.

“Brenda was always pleasant and happy, and so was almost everyone in that bar,” Ritke said.