Nine injured in Denver shooting near Nuggets NBA title celebrations

Denver Nuggets fans celebrate in downtown Denver after the end of Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. –Max Paro/Getty Images/AFP

Nine people were shot and injured and a suspect put in custody in the US city of Denver, police said early Tuesday, after a shooting near the arena where the Nuggets won their first NBA title.

Three victims were in critical condition and the others sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, the Denver Police Department said on Twitter.

The shooting occurred about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Ball Arena, where the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat on Monday — ending a 47-season wait for an NBA championship — and fans crowded downtown streets afterwards to celebrate.

“Preliminary info indicates multiple shots were fired during an altercation involving several individuals,” Denver police said.

The suspect in the shooting also sustained a gunshot injury, the department added.

It was one of 290 mass shootings recorded in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-governmental group.

Hours earlier on Monday night, police said access to the city’s downtown around the arena would be limited due to road closures, and warned of big crowds and heavy road traffic.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country — 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.