Denver police searching for female shooter who injured 5 outside Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar
Female suspect reportedly was denied entry to bar and restaurant in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police in Denver are searching Thursday for a female shooter who they say injured five bystanders after opening fire outside the Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar and restaurant, reports say.
Investigators told KDVR that the gunfire erupted late Saturday night in the Lower Downtown neighborhood after the suspect, who was in line to get into the country music star’s establishment, was stopped by security who believed she may have not been using her own ID.
"Preliminary information indicates that the female suspect was denied entry to a bar in the 1900 block of Market Street. The suspect began walking away but quickly returned to have another conversation with security staff," the Denver Police Department told Fox News Digital in a statement. "As the suspect walked away a second time, she produced a firearm and discharged in the direction of the club multiple times, injuring the five victims."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Investigators believe the five victims were not the intended targets," police added, noting that all those struck "suffered non-life threatening injuries and are expected to survive."
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The female suspect being sought following a shooting in Denver around 11 p.m. Saturday night. (Denver Police Department)
"There seemed to be some sort of confrontation or a fight over that verbal altercation, at which she produced a handgun that was concealed on her person and started shooting," Armando Saldate, executive director of Denver Public Safety, told KDVR.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Denver Police Department on Monday released images of a woman wielding a firearm.
Madison Sharnowski, whom Denver7 says was a witness, described the shooting as happening "really fast."
"Obviously there were the gunshots. There was quite a few, I'd say maybe seven or eight of them. In that moment, it's like flight or fight response," Sharnowski said. "When I first ran, I was kind of like, check yourself, did — did I get hit? Check your people — did any of them get hit?"
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The area in Denver where the shooting happened Saturday. (Google Maps)
"There was a girl that was two or three people in front of us and she had been hit. I know that there was also a girl that was just a couple of people behind us that had been hit," Sharnowski added.
"You really don't know how you're gonna respond until it happens. And hopefully it's not something that you ever really have to respond to," she also told Denver7. "Not only is it traumatic to me, but for the victims as well. And I know that the suspect is still out there somewhere. And I feel like if anything, finding her will bring some sort of comfort to everybody that had to go through this."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There are four Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row locations, one of which is in Denver. (Getty Images)
In a statement to KDVR, a spokesperson for Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row said "We are very concerned about the ongoing criminal activity in LoDo and have been engaged with city officials and neighborhood leaders on how to make positive improvements in the area."
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Police are offering a reward of $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.