At least one person is dead and another is in critical condition after an assault at PT's Showclub, at 1601 West Evans Avenue, on Sunday, April 28. Ryan Ashland is being held for investigation of first-degree murder and second-degree assault.

At around 1 p.m. April 28, police received a 911 call about an assault at the strip club. When police arrived, they found Ashland in the parking lot armed with a baseball bat and standing next to a seriously injured victim "who was lying on the ground and in need of medical attention," according to the police report. After Ashland refused to comply with officers, he was tased and taken into custody.

Between 2011 and 2017 there were at least eight homicides or attacks at Denver area strip joints, including a fatal shooting at Dandy Dan's, at 214 South Federal Boulevard, on New Year's Eve 2017. PT's All Nude II, at 8315 East Colfax Avenue, closed in 2016 after several public-safety issues there, including a September 2015 murder; the city subsequently purchased the property so that it could be redeveloped.

The police report for the PT's Showclub incident describes a gruesome scene in which patrons of the strip club reported that they saw Ashland beating people with the baseball bat. One victim describes Ashland beating someone with the bat until she pretended to be unconscious, which prompted him to walk away. Four victims were transported to the hospital for blunt force injuries on their heads and bodies; a woman remains in critical condition and two more were released. Police have not released their identities or the name of the man who died.

We'll update this story when we have more information.