Loveland roadside shooting victim ID'd

UPDATE 4 p.m. Thursday: PD refuses to rule out Loveland shooting link

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: The grandchildren of William Connole confirmed to the Coloradoan that he was the man shot and killed overnight in Loveland.

UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: The Loveland Police Department will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. Thursday to discuss this case. Specifics have not yet been released, and police have not officially said this shooting is tied to the two already-linked incidents. Loveland police have engaged members of the task force handling those cases.

ORIGINAL STORY: Loveland police on Thursday morning are investigating an overnight shooting that left a 65-year-old man dead on a sidewalk.

Police were dispatched at 10:52 p.m. Wednesday to the area of East First Street and St. Louis Avenue on reports that an injured man was bleeding on the sidewalk. First responders tried to save him, but the man died at the scene, Loveland Police Department Sgt. Mike Halloran said Thursday morning.

Police did determine that he had been shot, Halloran said. He would not say how many times he was shot. It is not yet known whether this case is related in any way to the pair of shootings that left a Windsor man dead and a Milliken woman seriously injured. Loveland police are now consulting with a special task force established to investigate the already-linked cases from recent weeks.

"We're really early in the investigation," Halloran told the Coloradoan Thursday morning. "They didn't have enough information to show that it wasn't related, and they didn't have enough information to show that it is related, So, they thought it was prudent to consult with the task force just in case it was and to share information."

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That area where the shooting happened is west of Osborn Park and southeast of the intersection of U.S. 34 and U.S. Highway 287. It is a residential neighborhood about a mile from the downtown shops, and single family homes line the busy street.

"Most people around here have lived here forever," said Hector Gonzalez, a mechanic who works just a few doors down from where the man's body was located. "It's a little scary."

The coroner's office will determine the man's official manner and cause of death, likely on Thursday. His name will also be released once next of kin have been notified, likely later on Thursday.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Loveland Police Department tip line at 970-962-2032.

MORE: Public left to speculate on NoCo shootings

This story will be updated. Check back with Coloradoan.com for more.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.