1 killed, 4 wounded in shooting

A man was killed and four other people wounded in a mass shooting in Aurora early Sunday morning, according to Aurora police.

The shooting happened just after 4 a.m. in the parking lot of a strip mall at 12455 East Mississippi Ave. at a gathering that was “related to a Juneteenth celebration,” police said in a statement.

A very large crowd had gathered at the strip mall for a Juneteenth party inside a unit in the mall, according to police.

“At some point earlier in the evening the presumed organizers of the celebration began denying access to the unit,” police said in a statement. “This led many attendees to gather in the parking lot.”

At least 50 people called 911 at about 4:20 a.m. to report the shooting, describing an “active shooter in the shopping mall parking lot,” police said.

Investigators believe multiple people opened fire — they had recovered 114 shell casings by midday Sunday. Police said the attack could be gang-related. No arrests have been made.

Four men and a woman were shot. Those injured made their own way to the hospital, except for the man who died. Officers found him wounded at the scene and attempted to resuscitate him before he was taken to a hospital, where he died. He has not been identified.

The four survivors suffered injuries that ranged from minor to serious but that are not considered to be life-threatening, according to Aurora police.

Police said they do not know who organized the celebration in the strip mall.

“All we know is that it was associated with an unnamed unit in the mall — it’s just, doors and windows with no names on them,” Officer Crystal Mccoy said. “That’s part of what investigators are trying to figure out.”

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said in a statement that in light of the shooting, he asked Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson to brief City Council and the public “about the level of gun violence in our community and what actions the Department is taking to bring it down.”