Father of four injured in shooting near Denver's Union Station, still recovering

DENVER — The family of a man seriously injured in a shooting near Denver's Union Station said he was harassed by the teens before shots were fired. The 16-year-old suspect has been arrested.

As Denver7 reported on August 13, officers from the Denver Police Department were dispatched to the area of ​​16th and Wynkoop Streets for reports of a shooting shortly after 5:30 p.m. At the scene, officers found three injured men who were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

One of these men was 42-year-old Alex Villafuerte.

Man was harassed by teenagers before shooting near Denver's Union Station, family says

Family members said Villafuerte, who commutes daily from the train station to Littleton, was approached by a group of youths who began harassing him because of his hat.

“What [Alex] said he was just going about his normal business because the altercation started a block from Union Station, so he had already gotten off his bus and was on his way to Union Station to catch the train. That's when one of the women in the group said, “I'd like his hat. I want his hat,” said Jennifer Servantes, Villafuerte's ex-wife.

The argument quickly escalated, and one of the teens pulled out a gun and shot Alex, who was sitting next to him, his family said. The teen, identified as 16-year-old Cyrus Haggard, was arrested the next day. He is charged as an adult with three counts of attempted murder.

His eldest daughter, Alyssa Villafuerte, said her father has returned home from the hospital but is still suffering from emotional problems.

“He's mentally out of it. I know my dad… I see that he's not well and he's acting like everything's fine and just hiding it so he doesn't have to worry me or anyone else,” Alyssa told Denver7 on Tuesday.

A preliminary investigation into the shooting revealed that Haggard approached one of the victims for an unknown reason. After a brief struggle, the suspect fired shots, striking the first victim and two other bystanders who were behind him, according to a Denver police spokesman.

Officials said detectives were able to track down Haggard after obtaining a description of the teen from witnesses and reviewing surveillance video from the area.

Villafuerte's family believes all of the juveniles involved should be held accountable. Denver police could not confirm if they are looking for additional suspects.

“It's exhausting. We're all scared. And you wonder what the world has become,” Alyssa added.

She is helping to raise money to buy school supplies for her younger siblings since her father is still on the recovery list.

“It should pay for my siblings' school supplies and … after-school sports supplies,” she said. “I just want to do whatever I can to help my siblings get their uniforms, school supplies and all that other stuff.”

Denver7 brought his concerns about downtown safety to Mayor Mike Johnston earlier this month. Hear what he had to say in the video below.

Denverites nervous after shooting near Union Station: We brought these concerns to the mayor