On January 30, 2016, a brawl involving gunfire and knives broke out between rival

motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. Ther ...

s at the National Western Complex, in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. One person was killed and seven others were injured.

Shooting

On January 30, police responded to a brawl that broke out between rival motorcycle clubs inside the National Western Complex, located near the

Denver Coliseum Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by thCity and County of Denver operated by itsDenver Arts & Venuesand located in Denver, Colorado. The arena holds 10,200 people and was built from 1949 to 1951. The coliseum is located in Denver's Elyria ...

just north of Interstate 70. The Complex was hosting the 38th Annual Colorado Motorcycle Exposition, where motorcycle clubs across the country had gathered, including the

Bandidos Motorcycle Club The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters, ...

and

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

. The Iron Order Motorcycle Club had 16 of its members in attendance at the expo, and only stayed for an hour. In an attempt to leave the expo, the group left down a flight of stairs near the basement of the complex, where several Mongols had booths selling T-shirts. Three Iron Order members were separated and confronted by a much larger group of around 30 members of the

Mongols Motorcycle Club The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the Mongols Nation or Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club. The club is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969. L ...

, a Mongol challenged them and told them to leave. A Mongol approached them and knocked a beer out of the hands of an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Iron Order member while yelling a racial slur at him. A fist and knife fight broke out at 12:48 p.m., with several Iron Order members being severely beaten and stabbed. In response an Iron Order member who works for the

Colorado Department of Corrections The Colorado Department of Corrections is the principal department of the Colorado state government that operates the state prisons. It has its headquarters in the Springs Office Park in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Sp ...

, pulled out his gun and fired one shot into the ceiling. A Mongol charged at him but was gunned down and injured. Another Mongol attempted to tackle the gunman as he fled up the stairs, but was struck and fatally injured. An Iron Order member was handcuffed and taken into custody Saturday following the brawl.

Victims

According to the medical examiner's report, seven people were injured. Three remain in critical condition, three are stable, and one other person suffered lesser injuries. The sole fatality was identified as 46-year-old Victor Mendoza, a Mongol who was shot in the chest.

Aftermath

The emergency room at Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center, where the injured were taken, was placed on

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

by the

Denver Police Department The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and may provide contractu ...

out of fear of the conflict spreading. Dr. Kevin McVaney of the Denver Health Medical Center said three were in critical condition, suffering gunshot wounds, while the six others were reported as being stable. The two gravely injured were said to be members of the Mongols and Iron Order. As a result of the shooting, the second day of the motorcycle expo was cancelled. The

has released few details of the incident. According to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

in 2016, the Iron Order formed in 2004 and is one of the fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the U.S.

References

{{OutlawMotorcycleGroups 2016 in Colorado 2010s in Denver Crimes in Colorado Deaths by firearm in Colorado January 2016 crimes in the United States Organized crime conflicts in the United States Outlaw motorcycle club conflicts Mongols Motorcycle Club Mass shootings in Colorado

Shooting

Victims

Aftermath

See also

References