A 13-year-old boy fatally shot Richard Sanchez, pictured in the inset, on this bus the evening of Jan. 27, 2024, police said. (Inset: Krystal Sanchez; screenshot: KMGH)
A 13-year-old boy shot and killed a grandfather in a dispute over the victim’s leg being in a bus aisle. Cops in Denver, Colorado, announced on Friday that they arrested the teenager the previous evening for “investigation of first-degree murder,” though prosecutors will have to make a final decision on any formal charges.
The family identified the victim as Richard Sanchez.
“Our dad was just trying to get home to his daughters and grandsons but never arrived,” his daughter, Krystal Sanchez, said in a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral costs. “A 13 year old boy shot and killed him. This has been one of the most devastating things to deal with as a family. We will always cherish all the memories we shared together.”
Cops said they responded the evening of Jan. 27 to the bus near the intersection of South Federal Boulevard and West Mississippi Avenue to find the victim, who they did not name, suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“At this stage of the investigation, it appears there was verbal exchange between the suspect and victim about the victim’s leg blocking the aisle on the bus, and the suspect then shot the victim,” they wrote. “A second victim suffered a minor injury, was treated at the scene, and did not require transport to the hospital.”
Sanchez was several blocks from home when the shooting happened, his family told Denver Fox affiliate KDVR.
“I was really heartbroken, honestly,” grandson Joseph Chavez told the outlet. “I don’t understand how someone could do that to such an honest person. It’s been hard because we didn’t know where he was at, and the whole time, he was at the hospital and they didn’t contact us. Nobody was there with him during his last breath.”
