Denver Police are investigating a shooting in the 800 block of 22nd Street that left two victims hospitalized, with investigators still working to develop information on a suspect. The shooting was reported Friday at 12:54 p.m., and no arrests had been announced as of the department's latest update.
According to a post from the Denver Police Dept.
, officers located two victims at the scene who were transported to the hospital following the shooting. The department said investigators are working to develop suspect information and that updates would be posted to the same thread as they become available. Police included a disclaimer noting that the information in the alert is subject to change based on investigative findings.
The 800 block of 22nd Street sits within the Arapahoe Square and Five Points area, an urban redevelopment corridor linking downtown business blocks with residential and commercial properties, according to the City and County of Denver Department of Community Planning and Development. Denver Police Department District 6 operates out of its station at 1566 Washington Street in Capitol Hill and covers Downtown Denver and Five Points, per the City and County of Denver.
A Neighborhood With Deep Roots
The Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives traces an early Black residential community along 22nd Street to Black railroad workers in the 1870s. By the 1920s, more than 90% of Denver's African American population lived in Five Points and the adjacent Whittier neighborhood, the archive says.
Denver's Homicide Numbers Climbing Even as Statewide Violence Falls
Denver Police Department figures released in July 2026 showed total crime in the city fell 0.4% in the first half of the year while homicides rose nearly 37% compared with the same period in 2025, 9NEWS reported. Police Chief Ron Thomas said nonfatal shootings declined even as gun violence became more lethal, according to The Denver Gazette.
In response, Chief Thomas announced a Violence Suppression Action Plan on July 31, assigning overnight Violence Response Teams and expanding Place Network Investigations across districts, according to the Denver Gazette. The plan includes a Violence Response Team and expanded investigation hours.
That local surge stands in contrast to statewide trends. Violent crime across Colorado dropped 10.7% in 2025 compared to 2024, with aggravated assaults falling 9.0%, according to the Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Justice. The gap between falling statewide numbers and Denver's climbing homicide rate has become a focal point for the city's public safety strategy this year.
What Districtwide Crime Figures Show
According to Colorado Politics, Denver recorded 37 homicides in 2025, nearly 48% fewer than in 2024, while violent crime in Police District 6 increased from 2024 to 2025. These are different measures and periods; the figures do not provide reported shooting counts for District 6 or Five Points, or a comparable citywide shooting count, so they cannot establish a shooting trend for the neighborhood or this block.
What Charges Could Look Like
Discharging a firearm into an occupied building or vehicle is a Class 5 felony under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-12-107.5, punishable by 1 to 3 years in state prison and fines between $1,000 and $100,000, per FindLaw, and that charge can apply even if no one inside is physically harmed.
Police were still working to develop suspect information. Both victims were transported to the hospital.
Friday's shooting is the latest in a string of gun violence incidents Hoodline has tracked across central Denver in recent weeks, including a shooting near 14th and Washington in Capitol Hill and a shooting on Colfax Avenue earlier this month. As Denver Police continue to lean on Violence Response Teams and Place Network Investigations, residents in Five Points are once again waiting for answers about who opened fire on their block.
