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Deadly Shooting Could Fall Under 'Make My Day' Law


DENVER (CBS4) - A late night shooting in a west Denver neighborhood left one man dead Friday night. The shooting could be a case of the "Make My Day," the law that gives homeowners the right to protect their property.

The shooting happened just before 9:30 p.m. on South Julian Street near the intersection of Federal and Alameda in Denver.

Investigators are still piecing together exactly what happened when two men showed up at the house prompting the homeowner to open fire.

Neighbors said they heard something strange.

"I was like, 'I wonder what it was,' and my mom was like, 'I don't know.' She was like, 'Maybe it was someone messing around with a firework or someone got shot,'" neighbor Jen Romero said.

Denver police say when they arrived they found one man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He later died.

"Early indications are that there were two individuals who went to this home. At some point they were involved in an altercation or confrontation with the homeowner. The homeowner produces a weapon, fires, striking one of those two individuals," Det. John White with Denver police said.

Martin Barragan lives next door to where the shooting happened. He doesn't really know his neighbors and says most people keep to themselves in the neighborhood.

"It's an older lady, her son, and he has kids as far as I know," Barragan said.

He's not sure if the children were home at the time.

Officers tracked down the second man involved in the confrontation a short distance away but he is not under arrest at this point.

Questions remain about the homeowner, who is said to be cooperating with investigators.

White said it's tough to say if the homeowner will be protected under Colorado's Make My Day law.

"That's really tough to say right now, given I don't have all the particulars, it's still very much an active investigation," White said.

No one was home on Saturday.

Neighbors say they aren't aware of any problems here in the past.

No names have been released.

The Denver district attorney's office will decide if the homeowner faces any charges.

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