Shooting suspect in Denver identified as ‘private security guard’ hired by local channel, police say ‘no affiliation with Antifa’

A gunman who allegedly shot and killed a man amid BLM and right-wing protests in Denver has been identified as a private security guard. Police say he was not with Antifa amid speculation the incident was politically-motivated.

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a yet to be identified victim in Denver on Saturday is a private security guard, the Denver Police Department (DPD) reported.

“Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the DPD tweeted.

©Helen H. Richardson / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images

9NEWS, an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado, confirmed that the security guard was its contractor, tasked with providing security for a reporter at the scene.

“9NEWS hired the guard to accompany a 9NEWS employee covering an afternoon of competing protests nearby," the channel said.

Police initially reported that two people were taken into custody in the wake of the incident, that unfolded after 3:00 pm in Denver, as the tensions were flying high between participants of a right-wing rally called ‘Patriot Muster’ and a dueling ‘BLM-Antifa Soup Drive,’ organized by the Denver Communists.

The channel said the second person, who was detained but then released by police, was their producer.

9News noted that the producer is not facing any charges stemming from the incident.

“A 9NEWS producer who works in the investigative unit, was not involved in the incident. The producer is no longer in police custody and is not a suspect."

By stating that the alleged shooter was not affiliated with Antifa, a loosely organized group of far-left activists, police apparently sought to dispel rumors that the gunman was a BLM member.

The Denver Post reported initially that the shots were fired after an altercation between a right-wing protester and “a left-wing demonstrator” saw the former macing the latter, and the left-wing demonstrator then opening fire in response.

However, it did not take long for the newspaper to amend its story, saying that police “called into question” the report of the Denver Post’s journalist who was at the scene when the shot rang out “concerning the affiliation of the shooter.”

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