Shooting at Denver’s Civic Center park prompts brief lockdown of Colorado Capitol

Wounded man taken to hospital for treatment
The Colorado Capitol was briefly locked down Monday afternoon because of a shooting in Denver’s nearby Civic Center park.

The Colorado Capitol was briefly locked down Monday afternoon because of a shooting in Denver’s nearby Civic Center park.

The shooting happened about 12:30 p.m. A man was wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment. His condition was not released.

A suspect, also a man, has been arrested by Denver police.

The shooting appeared to be unrelated to the Capitol, where the Legislature was meeting on Monday, but people were told they couldn’t enter or exit the building as a result.

The Colorado State Patrol said on Twitter that the lockdown was initiated out of an “abundance of caution while situation develops.”

House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, told lawmakers gathered on the House floor to stay away from windows as police responded to the scene. Legislators received an alert about the shooting.

Debate on the House floor about a bill requiring people to safely store their firearms did not stop because of the lockdown.

The lockdown was lifted about 1 p.m.

Colorado lawmakers are set this year to spend more on Capitol security after the building sustained more than $1 million in damage during protests over the summer.

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