 Thank you all for joining us today, and I'm joined today by Police Chief Paul Pazin and our Public Safety Director, Murphy Robinson. We want to take a few moments to discuss what happened on Friday. We just left a briefing with the Major League Baseball, officials from Major League Baseball and of course our Colorado Rockets. And as the Major League Baseball all-star game events get underway at Courtsville, we want to reassure everyone, we want to reassure the public that there is no ongoing threat and that it is safe to enjoy the festivities throughout downtown Denver. First of all, I want to extend a very heartfelt, we all want to extend a very heartfelt thank you to a very alert, very astute and properly trained staff member and the set of employees at the Babin Hotel who saw something and said something. If we take away anything from this incident in our city, that is the number one lesson for all of us is if you see something, say something. And as a result of that, we are thankful for the reaction of our Police Department and I also want to commend them for their swift and very diligent and professional manner in which they responded on Friday as well. As you know, this took place in a hotel and without disrupting the festivities, the enjoyment of those hotel guests, our Police Department moved in and abated a pretty serious situation. I want to thank them for the tremendous work that they did on Friday. Let me set the stage for you. As said, this is an active investigation and I ask you members of the media to remember that as you engage in question and answer of our Chief and our Director of Safety. This is an active investigation and there is some information that we cannot and will not discuss here from this podium, but we want to reassure the public that this is, while it's an ongoing investigation, we believe everyone is safe. We cannot definitively say what this situation is yet and that after all the facts, I urge everyone and caution everyone not to speculate, including the media, on what happened on Friday. Again, a quick thinking of a concerned hotel employee and a quick response of our Never Police Department got this under control very quickly. I cannot have scored up how critical it is for the eyes and ears of our residents in helping us to address any form of crime before it happens. I'm going to repeat it again. Please, if you see something, say something. We can all take responsibility for keeping everyone in our city safe, particularly during an event like the All-Star Game. But no matter the circumstance, our number one priority is the safety and the well-being of everyone who is in our city enjoying our race setting. And what we've got in place for this All-Star Week and every day of this year is a top notch help for all the attendees and fans to have the best and safest experience they can in our city. The situation, as we saw this week on the phone, was to make sure that everyone was safe and that we got it under control. And I want to assure the public today that our, because of the swift work of our police department, the situation is under control. I want to assure and encourage everyone to calm downtown, continue to enjoy these festivities, to do all that you had planned to do while you were in our city. If you're a resident of the city, do all that you had planned to do when you decided to come down and enjoy our great downtown. With that, to get into the specifics, to the extent in which he could, he can. I want to bring up our police chief, Paul Payson, to talk about the situation. Mayor, thank you. Couldn't have said it better. I'm going to give a brief update kind of where we are at this day and time from what we can share. I think the mayor hit on it very well that there are parts of this investigation that we do not know. We are committed to trying to figure that out with our partners, both our local partners and our federal partners. Our investigators are working tirelessly to identify exactly what was going on, but we can't share with you information that we don't have. So let me begin here and remind folks of kind of what happened. So on Friday, July 5th, thanks to an astute employee and a team of employees, they alerted the police department about a suspicious situation. Our officers, our investigators immediately took action and were able to ultimately obtain two search warrants for two of the hotel rooms at the Maven Hotel. We arrested four individuals for various crimes, primarily the crime of weapon and, excuse me, a felon in possession of a weapon. We refer to it as possession of a weapon by previous upender. These individuals were safely taken into custody without incident. We recovered evidence that supports that crime. And we're continuing a very detailed and thorough investigation with our local and federal partners to identify exactly what occurred. We recognize, right, the fact that it's a Sunday and you all are here, the community concerned. We understand that here we're opening Denver back up for business. We have the great fortune of having the all-star game in our beautiful city. And we want to reassure folks that the safety department, all aspects of the safety department, the police department, the fire department, the Denver Sheriff's Department, our federal partners, the Colorado Rockies, that we have a very detailed and comprehensive plan to ensure the safety of our community members. And what we saw take place on the 5th is the system working. You saw people that saw something, they said something, and the appropriate response took place. With that, we're committed to ensure that the rest of the all-star festivities are safe, as well as the rest of our city, our community, is safe. And we'll work tirelessly to do that. We'll just remind folks the importance of seeing something suspicious, not discounting that, taking action, stepping up and doing this. We want to thank the entire staff there at the Maven Hotel for doing things the right way. And also, proud of our team and how they responded to this situation. Confident that we are safer today than we were previous to this incident, and we're going to make sure that that continues. Thank you. Before we do a Q&A, we're going to ask our Director of Safety, Deputy Mayor, Irby Robinson, to say a few words. Thank you, Mayor. I know the police chief and the mayor said it well. I'm just extremely proud of the Denver Police Department. And all the agencies that have been involved with this because it really exemplifies the partnership between community and the police department. And the ability to stop any type of threat, whether it be a crime occurring or whether it be something bigger. And I'll tell you, it's really nice to be able to speak to you all about something that was mitigated, something that was stopped in terms of just a crime that would occur, whatever that crime may be. And so I just want to reiterate that this is how it is supposed to work. I know the chief said it, I know the mayor said it, but this is how our system is set up. This is how our police department can really work with the public and making sure that we are investigating everything that you tell us. So when you see something, say something. I know that you've heard that, but I'm going to say it again. I also want to say this. We prepare for this. As a major city in the United States of America, we prepare for these type of incidences. Our police department trains for these type of incidences all the time. You have the best of the best when it comes to the police department in the Denver city and county. And when we talked about doing the All-Star game, when we talk about doing any of the major events we held, whether it's the DNC, whether it's the former All-Star games, we always know that threats such as these or any other type of threat, whether it be a medical call, whether it be a call for service of any type, we prepare for those. So I want you all to know that we will always be prepared to handle incidents such as this. We will always be working with our federal and our state partners to make sure that we are working cohesively and continuously with them. But most off, we want you to worry about having fun at the events that we're taking place. I would tell you, the chief would tell you, the mayor would tell you, if there was anything else that we would be worried about in terms of these events. And I want to reiterate that you are safe. We want you to come to downtown. We want you to enjoy the festivities that we are having because we truly believe that the system worked in this instance. With that said, we'll take question and answer. Chief, my name is Harold McKenlamb with ADC News. What was it? Did you at the original, when you originally went on this case, did you think that it might have been a terrorist act? And what made you think that? I'm wondering how it went down? Were there people in the room when the arrests happened? How did that all unfold? So thank you very much. Appreciate the question. And really, oftentimes when officers respond to any call for service, you're coming into that with a limited amount of information. And here is, without giving any of the specific tactics, we made sure that we were verifying information. And again, commending the staff for their quick work, but our investigators, they identified additional information that helped us get this successful resolution. Being able to arrest individuals that were prohibited from owning firearms. There's a reason why this law exists in the first place. There's a reason why their actions in their past have prohibited them from owning a firearm. So being able to safely resolve a situation like this is something that we're very thankful for. But again, operating on limited information, really vetting that, verifying that got us to where we were on Friday, July 9th. And this investigation continues, and that's what we'll do. We'll continue to, as information comes in, verify that, make sure that it is accurate. And to the extent possible, we will share that information with our community. Chief, I'd like to ask a slightly more specific question. I think we all know we're here because one local news organization reported that police sources said that you all feared, quote, Las Vegas-style attack. Did your department ever fear a Las Vegas-style attack? So we're all here to talk about our planning. We're here to talk about an operation that took place on the 9th. A successful operation of being able to take four individuals into custody and recover weapons. We don't know what we don't know. That's what the investigation is all about. We need to identify exactly to the extent possible why individuals were here in the first place. Why proximity to downtown. And we don't have those answers. What I can say is that through the great work of the staff at the Maven and the great work fire officers, that this is a safer city. Taking guns off the street, taking narcotics off the street is a good thing for the people of Denver. And we will continue to work tirelessly to keep our city safe through all-star weekend and beyond. Go ahead. Thank you. Will the suspect's face federal charges we know that and why or why not in APC charges? Excellent question. And what I can say is that we are working very closely with our federal partners. If federal charges are appropriate, then that will take place. But we're still so early on in this investigation, we can't say one way or another. But through a thorough, through a detailed investigation, through that partnership and collaboration working together is how we will ensure that this is filed in the most appropriate venue. Chief, what did staff see? I know it's only been two days, but are you able to rule out the plot for a mass shooting and if so, is this some sort of guns for drugs deal? I know there's people who are skeptical that someone would rent a room with the view of course deal. There's a ton of weapons in there with ammunition and body armor, et cetera, et cetera. So can you share like you're sure that this was not a plot for a mass shooting? I think it's a question a lot of people want to know. This is a question our community wants to know. This is certainly a question that everybody in this room wants to know. We don't make it a practice to rule things out, right? When you're talking about an investigation, you want to make sure that you're looking at every possible angle. What I can say is that we have recovered weapons and we have recovered narcotics. I mean, beyond that, speculating as to what an individual's intent is, we can't do that. We can't do that. That's what a detailed and thorough investigation hopefully will get us those answers. Did they make any statements to the effect that they're planning shooting? I mean, we're covering the materials of their planning shooting. Is there anything to suggest a shooting, a mass shooting? A suicide note? Great questions. Those will be details that would be part of an investigation. This investigation really has just gotten started and there's a lot of questions that we all have. It would be inappropriate for me to share details of an investigation because it could jeopardize the case. What we're looking for is, first and foremost, we heard it from the mayor. We heard it from the safety director. We are focused on keeping our community safe. We believe the quick work by the hotel staff and our officers has made us safer. Now, we have to ensure that this case is solid and by oversharing of information, we can jeopardize the accountability that is critical in this type of situation. If there are ongoing threats, we certainly will communicate that with our community. What I can say is in this particular situation, we are not aware of any ongoing threat related to these individuals or this situation. If that changes, we will share that information with you. What specifically did staff see that prompted them to call you guys? I can just say that the hotel staff is well trained and they stepped up in a big way. They reported suspicious information and that information was acted upon in a timely manner. Getting into any details or specifics, again, we need to make sure that we're protecting this investigation. As I stated earlier, folks that are prohibited from owning weapons have weapons and have drugs. We want to make sure that this is a solid case and we're not going to jeopardize that case by oversharing information. Are you guys looking into any local bank connections? We are, again, the best way to have an investigation is to not rule out and get narrowly focused in one way or another. What I am saying is that we are turning over every rock that we are looking in a broad sense to make sure that we can get to the extent possible as much information about each one of these individuals and any kind of answers to the questions that our community and each of you have for us. Yeah, FBI has said that they have no reason to believe that this is arrests where a terrorist connected or connected to a forensic course builder. All-star game, do you have information that they don't have that you're not willing to draw that same conclusion? We are working very closely with our federal partners. I think, and maybe I didn't put a fine enough point upon this, this situation, these four individuals, this specific incident, we believe that there's not an ongoing threat related to this July 9th incident and we are going to follow where the investigation takes us. We're not going to rule out anything and we want to make sure that we uncover all of the information available to the best extent possible. Mayor Hancock, did this go all the way to the White House? Did you have talks with the White House? I'm kind of wondering what Major League Baseball was most worried about. Were there any talks about postponing the game? Oh, no, no conversation with the White House and no consideration of postponing the game. I think Major League Baseball and Colorado Rockies obviously were just interested in the information as we could share with them to confirm that it was still a very safe situation, fluid situation and we reaffirmed them. They got the information they needed and they're playing ball. The activities are going forward. And let me just say this. I think it's important to note this. If you are speaking with someone as a source who's not directly related to this investigation, it might be hoove you to hold onto that information because what we don't need is alternative facts and misinformation to ensure the public that does not help the investigation or the credibility of this investigation or the public's sense of confidence. And I think that's important. We're not going to mislead the public. Up here, where we as a chief and I think the director pointed out very appropriately, when we have something that might be of benefit to the public in understanding their safety in this city and engage in these activities, we will share them. But as the chief said, this is an active investigation and if someone is sourcing who's not directly engaged in the active investigation, you might want to think twice about that. Let's not mislead the public. Someone else over here. Oh, in the back. I'm sorry. What was Major League Baseball's reaction to not only the situation, but how you guys were able to get under control. I mean, obviously this is their big weekend. So Major League Baseball, as they have been for the last number of months, has been just a wonderful partner. And I think much like you, we're just interested in the facts and we're interested in how we continue to bridge that partnership to make sure that we continue the safety of their fans and our citizens and our visitors. And so, you know, I think that I can speak for all of us in the city, in County of Denver, but also for the group that we met with that we will continue our partnership, we will make sure to the best of our ability that the citizens, our visitors and everyone in the baseball community stay safe and that you should go and enjoy some baseball. Enjoy the game, enjoy all that the All-Star Game has to offer because it's already a fun time. They're having a lot of fun after. May I have a couple more questions here? Well, you'll take the last one, one, two, and three. Okay. For Chief Pazen, it's a three-part partnership. We'll get them all in there. I thought this was too crazy. It's a 17-part question. No. But maybe you can or cannot answer that, but were any of the suspects in any of the hotel rooms when that housekeeper came across? Great question. It would be inappropriate for me to share specific details on this. And then lastly, we know that, I know I said three, we're going to do two. We know that at least two of the suspects, Richard Platt and the female, have Colorado connections. What about the other two, Ricardo and Gabriel or Rodriguez? Are they related or do they also just share the same last name? And again, do they have any Colorado connections? So looking into all of this, this is why, as Director Robinson discussed, why those partnerships are so important, that if leads take us out of stage or out of the metro area, we can run that information down. A little bit that I don't believe that the two individuals with the same last name are related. So I can share that. You were interested. Just to clarify on what you can share, you guys are praising this employee. This was indeed a maid who saw guns in at least one of these two rooms. We're praising the entire staff. The leadership that helped make sure that their entire team was trained the right way and everybody in the hotel that took action. So we're not specifically pointing out an individual or two. The credit goes to the entire hotel, the staff, and the forethought that the ownership and management have to make sure that folks have the courage that they know how to bring this type of information forward. So we cannot commend high enough the entire staff for the action that they took and then we certainly are proud of the Denver team, the Denver safety team and our federal partners on resolving something like this safely. That's a big deal. It's a big deal to be able to take four individuals in custody when we're talking about weapons and to do that safely without incident is a big deal. I did speak with the owner of the hotel and he shared with me that we train our staff in this very type of situation on what to do when they see something suspicious and it will be played out. So again, we appreciate that type of leadership and forethought from a leadership of a hotel in our city and encourage other hotels if you haven't done so to train your staff accordingly as well. You were next. Yeah, this is for the chief. Can you share the extent of what was recovered in those two rooms that led to some of these charges? No, it would be inappropriate to give a detailed rundown. I think what we've shared that there were four individuals that had been arrested. We have recovered some weapons, some firearms, and we also recovered a significant amount of narcotics. We will continue this investigation, follow the leads that present themselves to try to identify to the extent possible any type of motive, any thoughts that people might have, we want to try to figure that out. So is it fair to say you don't have a motive right now? We are doing an ongoing investigation, so the answer to that is we'll continue to review as much as possible that we're in the very early stages of this and we will go where the investigation takes us without making any kind of assumptions whatsoever. Last question is the photojournalist. I see you there. They are Colorado resident and what are the nationalities of them? Nationality of suspects. We have a mix of individuals here, both a mix of individuals. We generally don't get it. You never know how, I would say this, you never know how someone identifies. I myself am Afro-Latino. Most people would say I'm just a black man. So we never want to just assume but a mix of cultures are represented. Okay. You really get the last question. Okay. I know you can't tell us a lot, but I'm just confused on the two rooms. Were there guns in both rooms or one room? Was there a person in one room, all four there? What can you tell us about the two rooms? Yet again, another great question and I'm going to go up to the line without jeopardizing the investigation. Evidence was recovered in both rooms. Individuals were arrested in both rooms and that's the best I can give you on this. There's one more quick little tip that I think the mayor covered it, right? It's not an accident that the staff here did the right thing. We cannot be more thankful for that. I also want to point out our federal partners because it was only a month or two ago when we actually had this podium slid over and we were saying the exact same thing that see something, say something. We were talking about crime prevention as the mayor indicated. Our goal is to prevent a crime from occurring in the first place, to prevent any kind of harm to our community from taking place and so our federal partners, our crime stoppers partners we were talking about this months ago and we want to encourage folks not only through All-Star Weekend but moving forward if they see something that they say something and together we can keep our community safe. Appreciate your time today. Thank you all. Thank you.