The Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) focuses on showcasing and supporting the city center. Unfortunately, the recent stabbings that occurred over the weekend along the 16th Street Mall have made this task even more difficult.
Over the weekend, three individuals were attacked on the mall, with another stabbing taking place near Union Station on Sunday. Tragically, two victims lost their lives – one from Saturday’s incident and the other from Sunday’s, according to the Denver Police Department (DPD). The suspect, 24-year-old Elijah Caudill, was taken into custody on Sunday.
Expressing the community’s shared sense of vulnerability, Kourtny Garrett, the president & CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, stated, “We all feel very vulnerable. It is a very, very challenging time. Ultimately, the impact of this tragedy will be significant, and it will require time to restore trust and confidence in the downtown area.”
The City of Denver has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into downtown. During a press conference Monday, Mayor Mike Johnston said business is up and crime is down. But there is still a perception that this part of town is run-down and unsafe.
Denver
16th Street Mall stabbings refocus attention on crime in downtown Denver
DDP hopes 2025 will mark a turning point, as construction on the mall is expected to be complete.
“We have a lot of exciting things coming up with the reopening of 16th Street Mall, new businesses opening, a whole summer of activation planned,” Garrett said. “So that just emphasizes, again, the need to double down on security so that downtown both feels and is safe every day that people are coming back to the city.”
DDP said it has private security to patrol the area, but the most visible change Tuesday night was more patrols from Denver PD.
The lack of that police presence downtown is something concerned viewers have reached out to Denver7 about. Robin Randol and her family flew in from Phoenix to visit Denver last weekend.
“Felt like, as a city, like there should have been some sort of notification, some sort of presence of police, something to warn us,” she told Denver7 Tuesday night.
The family stayed at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel just off the 16th Street Mall and spent hours walking around the area Saturday night and Sunday. They had no idea that there was a manhunt underway for a stabbing suspect until they returned home Sunday night.
“I just can’t fathom why there wasn’t a single police, like, you know, car, person, anything in that area,” said Randal. “You don’t want to instill fear in people so that they don’t go out and, you know, spend their money, of course. But then at the same time, that was really dangerous.”
Randol said the experience will make her rethink taking another trip to Denver.
- Hear from Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in the video player below
Denver PD chief, mayor address media after deadly 16th Street Mall stabbings: Full press conference
Other visitors found out about the violence after speaking with Denver7.
“We’re staying right over a couple blocks down the way, and we never even heard anything about this,” said Brent Hase, who is visiting Denver from Wisconsin. “That was kind of mind-blowing.”
In spite of that, Hase said he and his wife will be back.
“Truthfully, I’m in love with Denver,” Hase said. “I came out here once before, probably five-ish years ago, maybe six. And friend of mine and I, we spent probably two [or] three days just walking up and down 16th Street. And it was, we had the most fun time of our life… I’m coming back next year. We come back every year. Like, it’s not going to change anything for me.”
In the wake of tragedy, that’s something city advocates are happy to hear.
