2 teens arrested on unrelated charges after Aurora apartment shooting
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Two young boys, just 11 and 15 years old, were shot at an Aurora apartment complex on Wednesday.
Now, two teenagers, 14 and 15-year-old boys, have been arrested. Police said the two were taken into custody on unrelated charges.
The 14-year-old was arrested on three outstanding warrants for assault and criminal mischief.
The 15-year-old had a gun and was arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon and obstructing a peace officer.
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Police said in a press release that the gun he had was illegally modified, equipped with “an auto switch that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic handgun.”
Police said they do not know if that gun was used in the shooting, but detectives have identified everyone who was involved and there are no outstanding suspects.
“They will be working with the District Attorney’s Office to determine appropriate charges for others who have not yet been arrested,” police said in a press release.
Kiana Wilford answers calls at the Struggle of Love Foundation, an Aurora non-profit working to curb teen gun violence.
She still has lingering questions after the latest shooting involving young people.
“Why, how? They are babies, literally babies,” said Wilford. “The first thing we want to do is to make sure the family is okay. And I know it’s really hard, especially as a mother, 11 to 12-year-old child getting shot, I mean that’s a lot.”
Wilford said the non-profit is getting calls like this more and more these days.
“On our violence interruption team we deal with it on a daily,” she said.
It’s a growing problem. Aurora police told FOX31 in 2020 that there were a total of 19 juvenile shootings.
In 2021 there were 43, with three being fatal. In 2022 a total of 46, with three being deadly. Last year, there were 53 juvenile shootings that killed five people.
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Aurora police believe that the victims knew the suspects.
The mother of the boys who did not want to appear on camera told FOX31 she heard 30 gunshots.
A neighbor shared a photo showing a sliding glass door that had been shattered by one of the bullets.
“What can we do to stop this? The parents have to be open to let us in to help them and help their kids, because it starts at home,” Wilford said.
The family of the victims told FOX31 the boys are doing okay physically, but mentally is another story. They say both are alive and that’s what matters the most right now.
Meanwhile, investigators are still working to determine exactly how the teens were involved relating to this shooting.
Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 (STOP).
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