A man was stabbed three times and rushed to a hospital after an attack on a downtown Denver sidewalk, and police say at least one arrest has been made as detectives continue piecing together what happened. The victim is expected to survive.
The Denver Police Department said officers responded to a report of a stabbing near 19th Street and Larimer Street, according to a post from the Denver Police Dept.
on X. Officers located one stabbing victim at the scene, who was then transported to a hospital, and police said they worked to develop suspect information before announcing Saturday that one person had been arrested in connection with the stabbing. “UPDATE: One person has been arrested in connection to the stabbing,” the department wrote, adding that updates would be posted to the thread when available.
A separate account from 9news.com described the location differently, reporting that the man was assaulted and stabbed while standing on a sidewalk near 20th and Larimer streets. The station's report also differs on how many people were taken into custody, stating that a 21-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were arrested nearby in connection with the attack. Hoodline could not independently resolve the discrepancies between the two accounts regarding the exact location or the number of people arrested.
How Investigators Say the Attack Unfolded
According to the station's report, the victim was attacked by two other men around 11:30 p.m. and was stabbed three times in the left abdomen. Police were able to identify two suspects after reviewing security camera footage of the attack, per the same account, and officers reportedly found a switchblade in one of the suspect's pockets.
The victim told police he did not remember what led up to the attack and said he did not provoke it, the outlet reported. Police have not specified whether the victim and the suspects knew each other or whether they believe the attack was random, leaving the motive unresolved for now.
A Pattern of Violence Downtown
The incident adds to a string of violent episodes that have rattled Denver's core in recent years. In January 2025, police arrested 24-year-old Elijah Caudill on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder after a spree that, according to The Colorado Sun, included three stabbings within 42 minutes on a Saturday and a fourth stabbing the following day, leaving two victims dead and two others hospitalized. Police said at the time there did not appear to be a connection between Caudill and his victims and that they were still working to determine a motive.
Mayor Mike Johnston has pointed to broader improvements downtown even as such incidents continue to surface, citing a 23% decline in shootings and a 55% drop in drug-related offenses in the area, per the Colorado Sun's reporting. Elsewhere in the metro area this year, the Denver Gazette reported that Thornton police investigated a separate stabbing in the 1400 block of East 104th Avenue that caused non-life-threatening injuries, with a suspect arrested in that case as well.
What Comes Next
The Denver Police Department noted that its X account is not monitored around the clock and advised anyone with an emergency to call or text 911. The department also provided a non-emergency police-services line, 720-913-2000, for residents seeking more information. No further details about charges or the identities of those arrested have been released.
