A house party in Denver’s Virginia Village neighborhood turned deadly in the early morning hours of June 12, 2022, when gunfire erupted just after 1 a.m. Eighteen-year-old Prudencio Ortiz-Arellanez Jr., a Hispanic or Latino male and former Riverdale Ridge High School quarterback, was among six people struck. Prudencio and 21-year-old Abraham Garcia were fatally wounded and later died at the hospital; four others, including a juvenile male, a woman, and two men, suffered serious injuries.

The shooting occurred in the 4600 block of East Colorado Avenue. Evidence markers and a cordoned-off scene testified to the extensive violence that night as Denver Police began their investigation. Friends, family, and Prudencio’s coach remembered him as selfless and kind, and his coach called him the best quarterback he ever coached.

No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified; the Denver Police Department has appealed for information. If anyone knew Prudencio, was at the party, or has details about what happened that night, please share what is known.