On January 9, 2022, 15-year-old Nevean Tafoya of Pueblo was shot and killed in Colorado Springs during what authorities believe was an attempted robbery at the Summit Creek Apartments on the 1900 block of South Chelton Road. The Colorado Springs Police Department responded to multiple calls of shots fired about 1:19 a.m. and found several people with gunshot wounds. Tafoya and 13-year-old Marcus Venezio-Hernandez were pronounced dead at the scene; one adult and three other juveniles were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The vehicle the victims were in with their father had 16 bullet holes.

Two suspects were arrested: 19-year-old Kadin Dyer Blaschke, taken in Reno by U.S. Marshals, and a 17-year-old male arrested in Colorado Springs who has not been publicly identified because of his age. Both were charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Blaschke later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in Colorado’s Youthful Offender System under a plea agreement that includes a 32-year Department of Corrections term if conditions are not met.

Anyone with information about Nevean or that night is asked to come forward.