Third person shot at Denver homeless shelter in two weeks; suspect arrested

DENVER — A man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after a shooting at one of Denver’s hotel shelters, marking the shelter’s third person shot in less than two weeks.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting at a city shelter at 4040 N. Quebec St. — formerly the DoubleTree by Hilton — at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday, said Siena Riley, spokesperson for the Denver Police Department.

The former DoubleTree hotel has been leased by the city since November for use as a transitional housing shelter, one of several set up as part of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s initiative to provide housing for homeless people in the city.

When they arrived on scene, officers found an adult woman who had been shot inside one of the hotel’s rooms, Riley said. Paramedics transported the woman, who has not been identified, to a local hospital and she is expected to survive.

Officers arrested a suspect in Wednesday’s shooting — 34-year-old Cameron Ware — on suspicion of first-degree murder just before 11 a.m. Thursday, the police department said in an update.

Police believe Ware knew the victim and possibly targeted her due to a previous conflict between the two, according to a Thursday news release from the police department.

Investigators identified Ware as a suspect using surveillance footage and were able to track him to a separate room within the building where he was located and arrested, the release stated.

The Denver District Attorney’s office will announce official charges against Ware.

Less than two weeks earlier, on March 16, Denver officers were investigating a double homicide at the same hotel shelter after a man and women were shot to death.

Sandra Cervantes, 43, and Dustin Nunn, 38, were both killed — Cervantes died from a single gunshot wound and Nunn died after being shot multiple times.

No arrests have been made in the double homicide, but the case prompted increased security measures at all of the city’s homeless shelter sites.

Even with increased safety protocols — including hiring more staff and contract security guards, securing all entry points with a badge system and photo ID cards for residents, installing additional security cameras and increasing police patrols in the area, a gun still made its way into the shelter Wednesday night.

Denver Police Department records show officers received 465 calls for service at the shelter between Jan. 1 and March 17.

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