Denver protest death: protester shot during rival demonstrations

A man was shot and killed during rival protests from the right and left in the American city of Denver.

Reports say the dead man had been participating in a so-called “Patriot Rally” by right-wing protesters.

Police said the arrested suspect was a private security guard who was not linked to the counter-protesters.

A Denver television station said it had hired the suspect as a security guard to protect its crew. However, the police have not confirmed it.

What happened?

The “Patriot Rally” that took place in Denver was met with counter-protests from various groups who said they were running a “Black Lives Matter-Antifa Soup Campaign.”

The shooting took place in a courtyard of the Denver Art Museum.

Photographs published by the Denver Post appear to show a confrontation during which the protester punches the security guard and pepper-sprayed him before the security guard opens fire.

Denver Police Chief of Investigation Joe Montoya said the incident occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. GMT). He said there was a “verbal altercation” and a firearm was fired.

Two weapons were recovered at the scene and a suspect was detained, he said.

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Local television station KUSA-TV said on its website that the man arrested was a security guard it had hired to protect its crew.

“It has been the practice of (KUSA) for several months to hire private security to accompany staff in protests,” the station said.

However, Chief Montoya said he could not confirm that the suspect worked for the station. Authorities have yet to identify him or the victim.

Chief Montoya said police kept rival rallies separate and there were no other arrests.