Exasperated with gun violence, Olde Town Arvada gathers to mourn
ARVADA, Colo. — For Casey Adler, Olde Town Arvada is “a place of just safety and happiness, generally.”
That feeling, along with a window of a nearby business, was shattered Monday when three people—a police officer, the suspect, and someone described as a good Samaritan—died in a shooting near the intersection of Olde Wadsworth Boulevard and West 57th Avenue.
“This area means a lot to a lot of people,” Adler said. “During the summer, there’s kids playing in the fountain on the weekends and the evenings. It’s a place for people to gather and have fun.”
But this week, it’s a place of mourning.
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Crowds gathered Tuesday morning to leave flowers, signs, and other items at the Arvada Police Department; others organized a prayer circle in the town square, where they sang “Amazing Grace.”
So far, only the officer, Gordon Beesley, has been identified. Beesley was a 19-year veteran of the Arvada Police Department and served as the School Resource Officer for Oberon Middle School, Lincoln Academy, and Excel Charter Academy School over the past decade.
Oberon Middle School is serving as a “central location for gathering and support for Oberon, Lincoln, and Excel staff and families,” according to the Jefferson County School District. The school will be open until 4 p.m. Tuesday, and from 12-2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23.
“It’s extremely frustrating. It makes me angry, to be honest. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of you having to do this,” Adler said to Rocky Mountain PBS’ Brian Willie, referencing the near-constant coverage of gun violence that many members of the media have become accustomed to.
Adler is the owner of The StockRoom, a bar on Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, an idyllic stretch of shopping, dining, and entertainment in the historic part of town.
“I’m sick of people having to heal and having to understand,” Adler continued, visibly emotional. “To listen to my staff in fear for their lives and I was unable to do anything except to tell them to get down and not let anyone in — I don’t know if I’ll get over that, to be honest.”
Adler pointed out that a neighboring business lost a window to the gunfire, and that one of the trees lining the street appeared to have been grazed by a bullet.
“It can happen anywhere,” Adler said of gun violence, “and it did happen anywhere, because we are anywhere.”
“Next time, it will be somewhere else, and the same people will say ‘Well, this doesn't happen here.’ I’m sorry, but it does, and it will,” Adler said. “And at what point is it too much?”
Still, Adler was confident that the tragedy wouldn’t “break” the community. But, “It’ll bend us,” he said, “How could it not?”
“Be active in your community and vote,” Adler concluded. “That’s all you can do.”
Brian Willie is the Content Production Manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can contact him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.
Kyle Cooke is the Digital Media Manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org or on Twitter at @KyleACooke.