LAPORTE – The Larimer County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting at a liquor store Saturday night that left one person dead.
It happened around 9:30 p.m. at the Branding Iron Liquor Store, located at 3212 W. County Road 54G in Laporte.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says when deputies arrived on scene, they found several bullet casings in the parking lot and a man who had been shot. He was transported to the Poudre Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"What we know right now, based on what we've heard, it seems to be gang related, which is really unusual for this small town of Laporte," said Kathy Messick, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
Witnesses told deputies that a white Lincoln Navigator and a white motorcycle fled the scene prior to their arrival.
Fort Collins Police found the Navigator and found an injured person who was transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies.
Deputies say at this time the motorcycle has not been found.
Abbie O'Connell, a longtime resident of Laporte, says she was walking from a nearby gas station and saw the two victims just before the shooting. She says one of them went inside the liquor store and the other stayed outside to talk to her about her dog, then she went home and heard six to eight gun shots.
"I just saw the guy," said O'Connell, "And then 10 minutes later we heard shots and came back up here and the guy from the liquor store talked to me and he was all like, 'When you guys were walking past, those two guys who were standing out there are the two guys who got shot.'"
O'Connell says the shooting is very uncharacteristic for the small Northern Colorado town.
"It's scary. It's a little town - little itty-bitty town. I've lived here almost 20 years and I've never seen anything like this ever happen," said O'Connell. "I'm not going to walk at night anymore."
Authorities surrounded a limousine with police tape, however, it was not immediately known how it was involved in the incident.
Two men were detained at the scene and are being questioned as potential suspects, and two others are being detained as material witnesses, deputies say.
Investigators say they are gathering and reviewing statements from other witnesses.
Authorities did not release any names.
It happened around 9:30 p.m. at the Branding Iron Liquor Store, located at 3212 W. County Road 54G in Laporte.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says when deputies arrived on scene, they found several bullet casings in the parking lot and a man who had been shot. He was transported to the Poudre Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"What we know right now, based on what we've heard, it seems to be gang related, which is really unusual for this small town of Laporte," said Kathy Messick, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
Witnesses told deputies that a white Lincoln Navigator and a white motorcycle fled the scene prior to their arrival.
Fort Collins Police found the Navigator and found an injured person who was transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies.
Deputies say at this time the motorcycle has not been found.
Abbie O'Connell, a longtime resident of Laporte, says she was walking from a nearby gas station and saw the two victims just before the shooting. She says one of them went inside the liquor store and the other stayed outside to talk to her about her dog, then she went home and heard six to eight gun shots.
"I just saw the guy," said O'Connell, "And then 10 minutes later we heard shots and came back up here and the guy from the liquor store talked to me and he was all like, 'When you guys were walking past, those two guys who were standing out there are the two guys who got shot.'"
O'Connell says the shooting is very uncharacteristic for the small Northern Colorado town.
"It's scary. It's a little town - little itty-bitty town. I've lived here almost 20 years and I've never seen anything like this ever happen," said O'Connell. "I'm not going to walk at night anymore."
Authorities surrounded a limousine with police tape, however, it was not immediately known how it was involved in the incident.
Two men were detained at the scene and are being questioned as potential suspects, and two others are being detained as material witnesses, deputies say.
Investigators say they are gathering and reviewing statements from other witnesses.
Authorities did not release any names.
