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Police investigating overnight crime spree in Denver; 1 killed, 1 injured

Shooting near Yeshivah Toras Chaim
denver police tape.jpg
Posted at 6:11 AM, Aug 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-19 15:04:22-04

DENVER — Denver police are investigating a crime spree late Tuesday evening that left one man dead following a shooting by an Orthodox Jewish seminary near Sloan Lake.

The spree started at around 10 p.m., when the Denver Police Department received a report of someone breaking into a car in the area of W. Alameda Avenue near the intersection of Clay Street. Police said the suspects fled the area in a stolen 2020 blue Toyota Camry.

At around 10:50 p.m., police were called to investigate a carjacking at E. Colfax Avenue and Grape Street. Nobody was injured in this incident, police said, but the suspects stole a 2018 Maroon Honda CRV.

Then, police responded to a shooting at around 11:10 p.m. along the 1500 block of N. Lafayette near Cheesman Park. One of the suspects fired a round and a person was brought to a hospital, where they remain in critical, but stable condition, police said. Police initially said a carjacking took place, but later corrected themselves to say it was a robbery. Some of the victim's belongings were stolen.

A few minutes later, at 11:35 p.m., Denver police tweeted that they were investigating a shooting along the 1500 block of Stuart Street near Yeshiva Toras Chaim. Police said during a news conference Wednesday that preliminary investigation shows the victim in this shooting, identified as 18-year-old Shmuel Silverberg, was walking out of the school when the suspects approached him and began firing.

Silverberg was taken to a hospital and died, police said. Investigators found bullet holes in a car in the front of the school and a window.

Sometime later, investigators learned that suspects were involved in the burglary of a business in Lakewood. During that burglary, a 1998 gray Toyota RAV4 was stolen.

"Our Yeshiva Toras Chaim community is grief stricken at the killing of one of our students overnight. We are caring for our faculty, staff, students, and their families in the face of this tragic and incomprehensible act of violence," said a representative from the Yeshiva Toras Chaim school. "We are grateful for the support we are receiving from our Denver community and from around the country, and for the work of local law enforcement authorities who have made this their top priority. Our community is seeking solace and privacy at this time."

Police released a Crime Stoppers alert asking for information on three vehicles that may have been used in connection to these crimes.

Police said the group of suspects is considered armed and dangerous.

Police said they do not believe the three victims involved in the crimes had any connection to each other.

The police department also tweeted at 9:35 p.m. that they responded to a shooting in the 4300 block of Ceylon Court in Green Valley Ranch. One man was transported to a hospital. This shooting does not seem connected to the other crimes, police said.