FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KDVR) — One person has been arrested in connection with a September shooting in Old Town Fort Collins after initiating a fight and chasing another man with a machete.
According to the Fort Collins Police Department, at around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, officers were patrolling Old Town when they heard gunfire. Officers ran toward the sound of the gunshots and found 36-year-old Francisco Saenz of Loveland with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he later recovered and was released.
Detectives learned the identity of the person who fired the gun as a 21-year-old man from Fort Collins. They located him several hours later on Sept. 17. Detectives interviewed him and released him pending further investigations.
According to police, the incident stemmed from an argument between two groups of people. Interviews with witnesses and video footage revealed that Saenz had a heated verbal exchange at a bar with another group.
Saenz confronted the group on the street after they had left the bar. He began chasing the 21-year-old man with a machete. The 21-year-old fired his handgun at Saenz in what police called self-defense and ran from the scene.
FCPD said a warrant was issued for Saenz’s arrest and he was found in California on Nov. 10. He has been charged with first-degree attempted murder and is being extradited back to Larimer County.
“This was a chaotic scene with a lot of unknowns initially. Our job is to find the truth based on facts and evidence, not assumptions,” said Criminal Investigation Division Lieutenant Jeremy Yonce. “I’m proud of the extensive work by our detectives to piece together what happened in this complex case.”
Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Matt Schuh at 970-416-8043.