Motorcycle Expo Canceled For 2017 After Deadly Brawl
DENVER (CBS4)- Next year's Colorado Motorcycle Expo has been canceled after a deadly shooting in January.
"I was a little taken aback because the promoter indicated that talks were going well with the stock show folks," said Tim Anderson, publisher of the motorcycle website Southwest Scooter News.
Derrick Duran, a Colorado corrections officer who is a member of the motorcycle club The Iron Order, allegedly fired his gun during the fight with The Mongols motorcycle club inside the National Western Stock Show Complex. The groups blame each other for instigating the violence.
Victor Mendoza, 46, was shot and killed during the Jan. 30 fight in which three others were shot and two others were stabbed.
Paul Andrews, President and CEO of the National Western Complex said it's in the best interest of public safety to cancel the event at that venue for next year. He said the decision came after months of research and discussions with various agencies.
The show had been running for 38 years and attracted up to 20,000 people. It was an important business for vendors.
Anderson said the future appears uncertain for the Colorado Motorcycle Expo, "Here's a show that has been in production since 1978 has been unceremoniously shut down. Now, are they going to be able to bring back after 2017... hard to say."
