Neshan Johnson ID'd By Witness, Arrested As Shooting Victim Fights For Her Life

DENVER (CBS4) - An unidentified 32-year-old woman who suffered at least one gunshot wound to the head Saturday night is in extremely critical condition at Denver Health, according to a press release from the Denver Police Department. DPD stated Monday that 18-year-old Neshan Johnson is believed responsible for her shooting. Johnson is currently jailed on attempted murder charges.

According to police documents, Johnson was seen by a witness exiting a dark-colored, four-door Honda, walking up to the passenger side of the woman's 2008 Range Rover, firing an estimated six rounds into it, and then returning to his vehicle which continued west on Colfax Avenue. This happened at 10:45 p.m. Saturday while both vehicles were westbound on West Colfax above Interstate 25.

Police officers found the injured woman's Range Rover sitting in the right lane. They found eight bullet holes in the windshield and two shell casings in the street in front of the car.

One minute past midnight, DPD Officer Katie Phillips found a dark-colored, four-door Honda going north on Federal Boulevard near Exposition Avenue. Phillips, who had investigated a shooting at a McDonald's restaurant's drive-thru the previous evening, recognized the vehicle from the restaurant's surveillance images. The license plate also matched, per DPD's documents.

Phillips followed the suspect vehicle and eventually began a commander-authorized pursuit when it did not pull over.

As it traveled north on Tejon Street, the Honda crashed into a large wooden pole, hit a fire hydrant, and slammed through a chain link fence. The vehicle came to rest in the front yard of 1595 West Byers Place. Officer Phillips reported three males got out and ran from the car.

DPD officers locked down the area and found Johnson hiding behind a shed a few houses away. More than a dozen rounds of ammunition had been thrown inside the shed, per police documents.

In the back seat of the Honda, police found two AR-15 rifles.

The other two males from the Honda were also arrested. Both are juveniles, per DPD. One is charged with attempted murder and the other has been released. Per protocol, juveniles' identities are not publicly released. That could change in this case if prosecutors move to charge the arrested juvenile as an adult.

In the Friday evening incident at McDonald's, a passenger exited a Honda after arguing with a drive-thru employee and pointed a handgun at several employees. He fired three shots into the restaurant before the Honda, which was reported stolen out of Aurora, drove off. There were no injuries as a result.

That Honda is also believed to be involved in a northeast Denver shooting on Thursday, DPD stated.

Southbound I-25 was closed briefly as part of Saturday night's investigation.