UPDATE: The family of 15-year-old Eddie Armijo Preciado confirmed that he was taken off life support Saturday and died just after 9:30 p.m. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner confirmed Preciado’s death was a homicide.
DENVER (KDVR) — The family of a young teen is hoping to get answers after he was shot Wednesday night in Denver’s Whittier neighborhood.
The family told FOX31 that 15-year-old Eddie Armijo Preciado was with his girlfriend when he was shot multiple times. The girlfriend was also shot, according to his family members. Preciado remained in critical condition as of Friday night.
Preciado’s aunt, Deb Sena, confirmed he was shot eight times, from the toe up.
What’s known about what happened that night
Sena said her nephew was out with his girlfriend at the movies beforehand and was in the area of 31st Avenue and Downing Street to meet his father, who was picking him up after their outing.
“They were getting off either the light rail or the bus,” Sena said. His dad waited for his son to meet him there, but he never did.
She said the teen’s father “told the police officer he was looking for his son.”
“At the time, the police officer didn’t even get it, that this was the boy who was shot and brought to Denver Health,” Sena said.
According to family members FOX31 met with outside of a Denver hospital, where Preciado is on life support, police told them it was a drive-by shooting, but his aunt is still unsure of what really happened and why.
“It was not no drive-by, he was targeted,” Sena said.
Family pleads for information
When FOX31 asked Denver Police about this shooting, they did not provide any updated information.
Meanwhile, family members remained at the hospital Friday night, begging for more information, as they hope their 15-year-old “Little Little,” as they call him, hangs on.
“If anyone knows any information about this crime, contact our family, contact the police, please contact his family,” Sena pleaded.
For Sena and the family, this shooting is a daunting reminder of another shooting involving another nephew.
Nearly 30 years ago, 16-year-old Geronimo Maestas was killed for his Broncos jacket, just minutes from where this shooting happened. Some locals may remember that year as the “Summer of Violence.”