LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Lakewood police are warning people to be on the lookout for a person shooting people at random with a BB gun.
Thursday afternoon, four people were hit near the intersection of West Alameda Parkway and West Jewell Avenue.
The victims include a man on his bicycle, a grandmother walking a child in a stroller and two young girls.
“It’s alarming just because there’s been so many in such little time, and you could hurt somebody,” says Lakewood Police Department spokesperson John Romero.
All four victims suffered minor injuries, but are expected to be OK.
In the past two months, police say 28 businesses in the area have been vandalized by someone using a BB gun. It’s unclear if these incidents are related.
“Property damage is bad enough, it’s mom-and-pop shops we’re seeing a lot of on Wadsworth, which is bad enough. But when it’s involving people, especially juveniles or somebody riding a bike, or again a woman pushing a baby in a stroller, that’s just unacceptable,” says Romero.
Nathan Beauchamp and Joshua Gross were on their way to go biking at Green Mountain Thursday when a bicyclist started gesturing for help.
“We had the window down and a cyclist flagged us down and said he just got shot,” says Beauchamp. “He pulled up his shorts and he had a big welt on his leg where he had been hit by a BB.”
Beauchamp called 911 and waited with the man for police to arrive. He says officers were there in less than a minute because they were already in the area responding to similar calls.
“Whoever it is that’s driving around shooting people with BBs needs to go to jail,” he said.
Beauchamp says the cyclist was shot in the thigh.
“He said he was on his bike and he started [hearing] this little ping-ping sound, and about the time he realized it was something hitting his bike. Then, he got hit and looked down and saw he was hit and saw a car go flying past him the other direction on Jewell,” Beauchamp said.
Lakewood police have not released a description of the suspect or the suspect’s car.
“We’re just asking the public, if you know anything about this, please come forward. We really don’t want more people to get hurt,” says Romero.
“Who knows what comes next?” asks Beauchamp. “If somebody is shooting windows out, and then cyclists and a grandma and children, I mean, who knows what that person is capable of?”
Anyone with information is asked to call LPD at 303-987-7196.