Gunshots erupt at vigil for person killed in Whittier neighborhood

Vicente Arenas
·2 min read

DENVER (KDVR) — Questions are being asked about two Denver shootings near a dog park and Manual High School.

A person was killed on Saturday evening at 29th Avenue and Gilpin Street, in the Whittier neighborhood. On Thursday, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victim as Marvin McCullough, 37.

Then, a vigil was being held for that person Tuesday around 9:20 p.m. when three more people were shot in the same location.

Denver police say there was a confrontation between people at the vigil. The three people who were shot are expected to survive.

Council Member Darrell Watson represents District 9 and lives two blocks from where the shooting happened.

“I think the question first and foremost: Is this going to be a trend as we are moving into the summer?” Watson said.

Police tape marks the scene of a shooting near 29th Avenue and Gilpin Street in Denver on March 30, 2024.
Police tape marks the scene of a shooting near 29th Avenue and Gilpin Street in Denver on March 30, 2024.

Calls grow for attention to Denver’s young people

Watson said more Denver Police Department officers were patrolling the neighborhood on Wednesday. Behind the scenes, he said, more must be done.

“As a council person, I believe that when we are funding stuff in our cities, that we are funding opportunities for our youth,” Watson said.

At the nearby Make a Chess Move center, which tries to help disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, they had heard about the shootings.

“I think that one thing might definitely help is to have more programs and more things to do, for the youth to do during summers and things like that,” Ary Qader said.

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Just outside of Manual High on Wednesday, FOX31 saw a lot of staff and police at Fuller Park.

No alerts were sent out to students and families about the shootings.

“Because this occurred after hours, because this occurred off of school property, there was not a need for us to do something special for this school,” said Scott Pribble, Denver Public Schools public information officer.

Now, police continue trying to figure out what led to the shootings that have left the Whittier neighborhood concerned.

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