One Dead After Shooting At ‘BLM-Antifa,’ ‘Patriot Rally’ Protests

One man was killed and a private security guard for a local news outlet is in custody after a shooting Saturday during a meetup between Antifa and pro-police counter protesters in Denver, according to several reports and eye witnesses.

The private guard was reportedly contracted through a company called Pinkerton by 9NEWS, the outlet reported. Another man, who was later identified as a producer for 9NEWS, was taken into custody, but he was later released after authorities determined he wasn’t involved in the shooting, according to the Denver outlet.

The Denver Police Department confirmed the alleged shooter was not affiliated with Antifa in a Saturday tweet

Update: Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 11, 2020

The incident reportedly began with an argument. The altercation escalated and one man shot the other after the second man maced the first, according to a Denver Post journalist who witnessed the event.

Someone just shot someone else in front of the police in the Antifa protest/anti-Antifa counterprotest Denver. Cops made an immediate arrest. pic.twitter.com/PuE7qo4gfC

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 10, 2020

Photos appeared to show a possible cloud of a mace and a man with a gun drawn.

More photos pic.twitter.com/j0tjCewZoh

— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 11, 2020

Another image showed the man on the ground lying next to what appeared to be a mace canister with another standing over him holding a handgun.

The “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive” rally was scheduled for 1:30 P.M. Saturday and the counter-protest “Patriot Rally” was set to begin at 3 P.M., according to 9NEWS.

Officers recovered two firearms on the scene after they responded to the shots, the local outlet reported.