Simcox was shot Saturday afternoon while doing paperwork in his marked police truck on the median of U.S. 36 just west of Federal Boulevard in Westminster. Simcox returned fire and killed the assailant, according to law enforcement. Simcox was taken to Denver Health, where he was treated and released that afternoon.

The shooter, a man who was driving a black Chevrolet pickup truck, has not been publicly identified.

His name will be released by the Adams County Coroner’s Office, said Trooper Gabriel Moltrer. The shooting is still under investigation as investigators look into a possible motive and interview Simcox.

The coroner’s office could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

People with information about the shooting can contact Colorado State Patrol at 303-239-4501.

In a statement Monday morning, Gov. Jared Polis said he spoke with Simcox and he wished him a “speedy recovery.”

“Colorado thanks Cpl. Tye Simcox for his courageous and brave actions to protect himself and our community,” Polis said in the statement.

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The shooting happened in the 1900 block of North Broadway, DPD said on social media.

The extent of the victim’s injuries are unknown at this time. Details about the victim or shooter were not yet known.

The circumstances around the shooting are under investigation, police said.

This is a developing story that will be updated if more details are provided.

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The four zones permitted by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for food truck operations are 18th Street between Larimer and Market streets; Lawrence Street between 20th and 21st streets; Market Street between 17th and 18th streets and 21st Street between Blake and Market streets.

The Market Street between 17th and 18th streets location is only being used this weekend because of an upcoming construction project, police said. Officials will evaluate additional potential locations to replace that one.

On Sept. 6, 7 and 27, food truck permits will not be granted on 21st Street between Blake and Market streets because of large Coors Field events, police said. Instead, food trucks will be allowed to park in the loading zone on the east side of Market Street between 20th and 21st streets on these dates only.

Police said the zones benefit safety because they create a positive environment between the bars and rideshare pickup zones, increase pedestrian safety and reduce crowds in the busiest parts of LoDo.

In creating the new food truck zones, DPD said it partnered with DOTI to consider areas that could accommodate lines, not block parking lot exits, not impede pedestrian traffic or bike lanes and offer enough space for multiple food trucks.

To reserve these meters, food truck operators must apply for a meter bag permit from DOTI to park and operate in these locations, DPD said.

“Through these adjustments to food truck permitting, the food trucks will be helping to improve safety in LoDo,” DPD said in a statement.

Last weekend, DPD distributed fliers to late-night food trucks in LoDo alerting them to upcoming restrictions on where they could operate.

Starting this week, food trucks are prohibited from parking along Blake, Market and Larimer streets, between 18th and 21st streets, and on 21st, between Market and Larimer, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

“The Denver Police Department has a large number of officers in the LoDo area on weekend nights, and finds violent incidents often stem from areas in which crowds congregate after leaving nightclubs and entertainment establishments,” DPD said in a statement. “By encouraging patrons to head home after leaving bars in the busiest parts of LoDo, DPD’s goal is to reduce the number of ‘bump into’ fights and incidents that sometimes escalate to gun violence among the crowds late at night Fridays through Sundays.”

Violent crime, however, is down this year in that area, according to data posted by the Denver Police Department.

The part of LoDo where food trucks are prohibited on late weekend nights straddles the Union Station and Five Points neighborhoods. Denver police data shows reported violent crime is down 17% so far in 2024 over the three-year average in the Union Station neighborhood and down 1% over the three-year average in Five Points — though the latter neighborhood is much larger and features other distinct nightlife areas.

In the summer of 2022, food trucks first were barred from operating in LoDo for about a month following a mass shooting in which Denver police wounded an armed man and six bystanders, though city officials denied a connection between that shooting and the ban.

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Police officials attribute the policy change to a need to control crowds and prevent violent incidents after bars and nightclubs let out. But food truck operators and advocates question any attempt to correlate people hawking hot dogs and crime.

“This ban doesn’t even make any sense,” said Justin Pearson, an attorney at the Virginia-based nonprofit Institute for Justice, which rallied against a similar Denver police policy in 2022. “Research shows food trucks make neighborhoods safer… (and) they’re taking away options for people to sober up before they head home. That is a horrible idea.”

Starting this week, food trucks are prohibited from parking along Blake, Market and Larimer streets, between 18th and 21st streets, and on 21st, between Market and Larimer, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Establishments inside the prohibited zone include Viewhouse Ballpark, Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, Tap Fourteen and the 1up Arcade Bar.

Police alerted food truck operators to the change last weekend by passing out fliers, though officials acknowledged to The Denver Post on Wednesday that those leaflets contained an error: They mistakenly said the restrictions were also in place Thursday nights.

“The restricted area of operation is intended to help reduce the number of ‘bump into’ fights and incidents that escalate to gun violence occurring among crowds during these nights and hours, and to encourage people to leave the LoDo area soon after the bars and nightclubs shut down,” the Denver Police Department said in a statement.

Violent crime, however, is down this year in that area, according to data posted by the Denver Police Department.

The part of LoDo where food trucks now are prohibited on late weekend nights straddles the Union Station and Five Points neighborhoods. Denver police data shows reported violent crime is down 17% so far in 2024 over the three-year average in the Union Station neighborhood and down 1% over the three-year average in Five Points — though the latter neighborhood is much larger and features other distinct nightlife areas.

The city does intend to create two or three designated zones for food trucks to operate in the area, but details are still being fleshed out, police said. “This is a pilot program and DPD will evaluate the initiative and results moving forward to determine whether adjustments are needed,” the department’s statement said.

In addition to the food truck restrictions, Denver police said they also implemented rideshare pick-up zones in July, increased officer staffing, improved lighting and increased outreach to bars and clubs in the area to address late-night safety.

Police officials declined to answer any further questions from The Post about what new events prompted the food truck restrictions.

In the summer of 2022, food trucks first were barred from operating in LoDo for about a month following a mass shooting in which Denver police wounded an armed man and six bystanders, though city officials denied a connection between that shooting and the ban.

David Sevcik, owner of Food Truck Avenue, which oversees operations for several Colorado food trucks including Mac N’ Noodles and Mile High Cheesteaks, said his trucks haven’t catered to downtown Denver nightlife for years because dealing with city regulations is so difficult.

“If we’re afraid of having a crowd in any environment, why are we serving food at sports arenas then?” Sevcik said. “Denver metro is becoming anti-food truck.”

Denver police’s statement said the department recognizes the impact on food truck businesses and “minimized the footprint of the restricted area to the greatest extent possible to achieve the intended goals.”

“DPD wants the food truck operators to be successful and for the area to be as safe as possible,” the statement said.

John Jaramillo, co-founder of the local Hispanic Restaurant Association, said food trucks have previously called on him to advocate on their behalf against the city’s restrictions. He said he understands officials are dealing with complex, nuanced issues but does not understand how food trucks contribute to violence.

“I don’t see how a person trying to make a living out of a legitimate business is a crime issue,” Jaramillo said. “That’s more of a structural city issue — homelessness, gangs.”

Two years ago, Pearson — the Institute for Justice attorney — questioned whether Denver’s food truck ban was unconstitutional. Now he said the new restrictions are “outrageous.”

“Everyone knows food trucks aren’t a problem here,” he said. “The police department shouldn’t be able to have this power to begin with and in most cities they don’t.”

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Police have identified 10 people linked to the Tren de Aragua gang who are operating in Aurora, and six of those people have been arrested and are in custody, Aurora police spokesman Joe Moylan told The Denver Post.

Details on the identities of the 10 people and the nature of the charges against all of the six arrestees were not immediately available, though some are in custody in connection with a previously reported shooting on Nome Street in July.

Moylan said officers have not arrested any gang members on charges related to collecting rent from residents at three Aurora properties owned by CBZ Property Management.

The properties took center stage in the conversation about the Venezuelan gang in Aurora when CBZ Property Management claimed unlivable conditions at its properties were due to criminal activity by Tren de Aragua gang members.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and other city officials repeated the company’s claim, suggesting the apartment complexes “fallen to” the gang. The claim was then amplified by local and national media and fueled by a viral video showing men with guns knocking on a door in the apartment complex.

Other Aurora officials — and the properties’ residents — have said the unlivable conditions at the company’s properties were longstanding and the result of the company’s mismanagement, rather than an overwhelming gang presence. Aurora’s interim police chief on Friday said gangs had not “taken over” one of the complexes.

Aurora has a population of about 400,000, and a study of its gangs last year identified 36 separate gangs with 1,355 members, about .34% of the city’s total population.

The 10 identified people linked to Tren de Aragua represent less than 1% of Aurora’s identified gang members, though Moylan said officers expect the number of documented Tren de Aragua members to grow as investigations into the gang continue.

“Every day we learn more about TdA, how it operates and how we can identify suspected members,” he said. “…It’s still too soon to try to quantify TdA’s presence in Aurora one way or the other.”

Aurora police have “investigated numerous claims and allegations” about gang members collecting rent from residents at the properties, but “have not yet established probable cause or made any arrests,” Moylan said.

Moylan declined to comment on how many criminal acts connected to Tren de Aragua members are currently under investigation, citing the ongoing investigative work. He said the police department has been investigating the gang for a year and that the residents making complaints about the gang’s activity have largely been migrants who live in the buildings.

Aurora police have publicly tied just one crime this summer to the Tren de Aragua gang: a July 28 shooting in which two men were shot and a third broke his ankle at the apartment building at 1568 Nome St.

One of the suspects in that shooting, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, 22, is a known Tren de Aragua member, police said in a statement last month. He was arrested after the shooting and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

On Wednesday, Aurora police confirmed they also arrested Pacheco-Chirinos’ brother, 24-year-old Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos, on attempted-murder charges on July 29. Both are documented gang members and remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

Aurora police also arrested two other possible Tren de Aragua gang members on charges of tampering with evidence in connection with the July 28 shooting. “These two have gang ties and are suspected to be members of TdA,” police said.

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Joseph Mario Castorena was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder by an Arapahoe County jury in May for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s house in the early hours of Oct. 30, 2022, and killing her family when they arrived home.

Castorena was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences plus 24 years in prison for the deaths of Jesus Serrano, 51; Maria Anita Serrano, 22; Kenneth Eugene Green Luque, 20; and Rudolfo Salgado Perez, 49.

Maria Serrano was the woman’s sister, according to previous reporting. Jesus Serrano was Maria’s father and Kenneth Luque was Maria’s husband. Salgado Perez was renting an RV on the property and was killed when he came outside during the shooting.

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Right-wing social media influencers and citizen journalists seized on video shared by Denver’s Fox31 television station showing armed men at an Aurora apartment complex, often adding their own captions and commentary, as it made the rounds on TikTok, X and Facebook.

Even former President Donald Trump weighed in during a podcast interview, repeating unverified claims that gangs were taking over big buildings with “big rifles” in the city.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman appeared on national TV and posted about the Venezuelan gang on his Facebook page, contradicting his police chief about the severity of the situation, and saying the city was preparing to go to court to get a judge’s order to clear out the apartment complexes where the Tren de Aragua gang operates. However, city staff on Tuesday said that is not the immediate plan.

Aurora and Denver police have publicly acknowledged there are Tren de Aragua gang members in their cities, but they say the gang’s numbers are not large and they operate in isolated areas. Others say the Tren de Aragua presence in Aurora, a city of nearly 400,000 people, has been overhyped.

“Those stories are really overblown. If you didn’t live here, you would swear we were being taken over by a gang and Aurora was under siege,” Aurora City Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock said Tuesday. “That’s simply not true.”

Aurora officials over the Labor Day weekend contradicted each other on the scope of the problem and the city’s responses to it.

Coffman claimed on Facebook that five apartment buildings along Dallas Street are “associated with gang activity,” and told Fox News that “several buildings” under the same ownership “have fallen to these Venezuelan gangs,” repeating claims made by property management company CBZ Management that the apartments fell into disarray because of gang activity.

Coffman did not return a request for comment Tuesday.

Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, who has been most outspoken about the gang’s presence in the city, also did not return a call from The Denver Post seeking comment Tuesday.

The mayor’s claim of a gang takeover is disputed by other city officials, who say the longstanding disarray and poor conditions at the apartment buildings were the fault of poor oversight by CBZ Management — not because of criminal acts by Tren de Aragua members.

“There’s this hysteria that we apparently have a gang problem, but what we have is a slumlord problem in the city of Aurora,” City Councilwoman Alison Coombs said.

Aurora interim police Chief Heather Morris said in a video Friday that residents are not paying rent to gang members.

“I’m not saying there’s not gang members that live in this community,” she said in the video, taken at the Edge at Lowry apartments at Dallas Street and 12th Avenue, where officers were talking with residents.

“We’ve really made an effort these last few days to ask the specific questions and direct questions in terms of the gang activity and… making sure that people aren’t paying rent to gang leaders, gang members. That’s not happening. And we’ve discovered here today and yesterday, talking with so many residents, that that is not the case.” she said. “…We’re standing out here, and I can tell you that gang members have not taken over this apartment complex.”

“We don’t feel threatened by gangs”

Dozens of residents who gathered in the courtyard at the Edge at Lowry apartments Tuesday afternoon said they have not been threatened by — or even interacted with — gang members.

“They say there are gangs and criminals, but the only criminal here is the owner,” resident Moises Didenot told a crowd of reporters.

The residents demanded city leaders hold the “slumlord” building owners accountable for untenable living conditions, including rodents and bedbugs. Didenot held up adhesive mouse traps with three dead mice stuck to them.

Aurora officials have disputed the property manager’s claims that issues at the apartment buildings are due to gangs, instead citing poor upkeep that has resulted in repeated code violations.

Tenants on Tuesday said they were more afraid of the hatred sparked by news coverage.

“We don’t feel threatened by gangs,” said resident Gladis Tovar.

Multiple people interviewed by The Post, including the two City Council members, specifically referenced the Fox31 report about gangs at the Edge at Lowry complex — featuring the video of armed men in the building — as elevating the national attention on the story.

On Aug. 28, Fox31 reporter Vicente Arenas, who had been reporting on problems at the complex, posted to social media a video that shows six men, one of whom was holding a rifle and four of whom were carrying pistols, knock on a door and go inside an apartment.

Since the footage was first posted on the news station’s website and X accounts, Fox31 says its network partners have confirmed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the men were affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. Efforts to reach the Fox31 news director Sean McNamara were unsuccessful Tuesday.

On Friday, Coffman wrote in a Facebook post that the city was preparing to seek an emergency court order declaring additional buildings a criminal nuisance — a tactic the city used before evicting 85 families from a building at 1568 Nome St. earlier this year. But city officials denied that Tuesday.

Aurora representatives are planning to meet with the property managers and owners before taking any official action in court, and an emergency court order is “one of several considerations at this time,” city spokesman Michael Brannen said.

“The state law is clear when it comes to a property owner’s responsibility when it comes to addressing health hazards and code violations at the apartment buildings they own,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to aggressively pursue a resolution in order to address the poor conditions impacting residents.”

A decrease in crime in Aurora this year

Venezuelan migrants have been arriving in metro Denver as they flee political upheaval, a poor economy and a humanitarian crisis. So far, an estimated 42,700 migrants have come through Denver since January 2023, according to a tracker on the city’s website, although many have moved to other parts of the country to be closer to family and friends.

While some claim the Venezuelan gang is bringing danger to the city, crime in Aurora has declined in 2024 compared to 2023, statistics published by the city show. Overall reported crime dropped 20% in the first eight months of the year when compared to the first eight months of 2023, the statistics show. The city saw declines in homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults.

Aurora police did not answer questions Tuesday about whether they have identified any instances of Tren de Aragua members collecting rent from Aurora residents, how many people have been identified as Tren de Aragua members in the city, or how many criminal acts have been connected to the gang.

Aurora city officials have publicly tied just one crime this summer to the Tren de Aragua gang: a July 28 shooting in which two men were shot and a third broke his ankle at the apartment building at 1568 Nome St.

One of the suspects in that shooting, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, 22, is a known Tren de Aragua member, police said in a statement Thursday. Pacheco-Chirinos, who uses the alias “Galleta,”  was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in connection to that attack.

Pacheco-Chirinos was also charged with aggravated assault after an incident at the apartment complex in November, Aurora police said.

Across the metro area, Tren de Aragua gang members have been arrested in two other incidents this summer: a jewelry store robbery in Denver and an enforcement action by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office on Aug. 21 arrested six people during a routine policing effort near South Quebec Street and High Line Smith Way — a slice of county land sandwiched between Aurora and Denver, spokesman John Bartmann said. Four of those arrestees were later found to be Tren de Aragua members, he said.

“We weren’t looking for them,” Bartmann said, adding that deputies found some drugs and recovered a stolen vehicle during the “proactive” policing effort. He was not able to identify the four arrestees or say Tuesday what charges they faced.

Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said many people on social media were conflating Denver and Aurora in a “misleading” way. He said officers have no evidence that Tren de Aragua members are targeting Denver apartment complexes for “takeovers.”

Jon Ewing, a spokesman for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, said the national attention was “fanning ugly rhetoric” during an election year. The mayor’s office is concerned that immigrants who moved to Colorado to start a better life will be harmed. But the city is also working to stop the spread of Tren de Aragua.

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time and be concerned about both of those things,” Ewing said.

Hancock, the Ward 4 Aurora City Council member, said the city is working to build trust among new arrivals so they will report crime to police.

“Our immigrant population is being targeted by gangsters from their own communities,” she said. “They often don’t report for fear of retaliation.”

“The hardest thing is getting people to tell us these things are happening. We need to develop trust with our agencies and we need APD to develop a relationship with people who came here to seek a better life.”

Aurora leaders also are worried about how the national reports reflect upon the city’s reputation.

“It definitely makes it seem like our city is not safe, that it’s not a good place to live, not a good place to do business,” City Council member Coombs said. “It also makes it seem like our city staff and our police department are not trying to serve the public.”

Denver Post reporter Katie Langford contributed to this report. 

This story was updated at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4 to correct the Aurora ward represented by Stephanie Hancock.

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Officers arrested 72-year-old Bennie Green Jr., on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with an Aug. 24 shooting near the corner of East Colfax Avenue and North Havana Street, the Aurora Police Department said in a news release.

Police were called to the area around 2 p.m. and found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and later died.

Investigators allege Green and the man knew each other but did not detail how they were connected. The man will be identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.

Aurora police are still looking for a suspect in an Aug. 18 shooting near East 12th Avenue and Dallas Street that killed 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Ararujo, department officials said in a news release.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired around 11:30 p.m. and found Ararujo with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital and later died.

Anyone with information about the shootings can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-912-7867.

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The department posted on its X account that officers responded to a shooting in the area at 2:05 p.m. Thursday. The victim was taken to a hospital.

On Friday, the department posted an update announcing that the victim had died. That update described the circumstances of the shooting as an apparent road rage incident.

The intersection of Byers and Kalamath is near a busy tangle of roadways including the West Alameda Avenue interchange with Interstate 25 in Baker.

The department has not shared further details about the victim or any suspects in the case.

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Jorge Trujillo was arrested Wednesday for allegedly killing Jose Angel Hernandez, who is also an Aurora resident,  according to the Greenwood Village Police Department.

Officers responded to East Union Avenue near South Yosemite Street at around 5 a.m. on April 27 after someone called 911 to report an SUV was stopped in the road with all the doors open and lights on and appeared to have bullet holes in it, investigators wrote in an arrest affidavit.

The area is next to Cherry Creek High School but the school is not connected to the shooting, according to police officials.

Police found Hernandez dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the SUV’s driver seat.

Investigators determined Hernandez, Trujillo and two others met up the night of April 26 and went to sell drugs at a Denver club. After the group left the club and was trying to find a strip club, Hernandez and Trujillo started arguing about Trujillo not returning the bag of drugs he was supposed to sell, according to the affidavit.

They pulled over as the argument got heated and two other people in the car tried to calm down Hernandez and Trujillo, with all getting out of the vehicle except Hernandez, a witness told police.

Trujillo then started shooting Hernandez “without warning” and ran from the scene. He was later recorded on a nearby surveillance video talking about needing to puke and that he “just started shooting,” according to the affidavit.

Trujillo is in custody at the Arapahoe County Detention Center on a $1 million bail and set to appear in court Tuesday.

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