LOVELAND — Several FBI evidence response team members canvassed Loveland’s Allendale Park and the surrounding streets Thursday while following a lead in the investigation of two recent Loveland shootings.

Northern Colorado task force officials closed off 18th Street from Denver Avenue to Chelsea Drive for much of the morning — the street was reopened as crew members began to comb the park with metal detectors in the afternoon.

The task force, established to investigate a recent string of area shootings in Northern Colorado, is made up of Windsor Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Larimer County District Attorney’s Office, Weld County Sheriff’s Office, Weld County District Attorney’s Office and Loveland Police Department.

“Members of the task force were out in that area, following up on leads they have received,” David Moore, task force spokesman said.

Moore released a statement saying that in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, details of tips, leads and evidence will not be released to the public.

“It’s crazy that it’s right here,” said Ali Reed, a nearby resident. “I never would have thought it would be a block from my house. I grew up in this neighborhood, these streets are my childhood.”

On Tuesday afternoon Moore released a sketch depicting a vehicle of interest connected to shootings — one fatal — in Loveland in early June.

Since then, Moore said, the task force’s tip line has received hundreds of calls from the public.

“[The neighborhood] is really a smaller community, with all the kids here,” Sharon Reed, Ali’s mother said. “Why would someone go out of their way to walk through this neighborhood? It makes me a little worried to send my kids to the park.”

Anyone with information about these cases is asked to contact the task force at 498-5595 or email taskforce@larimer.org.

McKee put on lockdown in separate incident

McKee Medical Center, approximately three blocks west of where task force officials closed down 18th Street, was put on lockdown Thursday morning. This incident at was unrelated to the task force presence on 18th Street.

“We were on lock down, it was a very brief,” Paul Matthews, McKee Medical Center public relations director, said. “Ultimately we determined it was a false alarm, It was a simply a miscommunication. We went on lockdown shortly before 9:30 a.m. and we were off it by about 9:53 a.m.”

According to a press release, hospital personnel received inaccurate information about a potential threat due to a more-visible presence of law enforcement officers in the area.

Those employees followed protocol until it was confirmed there was no threat.

String of recent Shootings

Three recent shootings in Northern Colorado have left members of the public concerned about their safety and investigators looking for links between the cases.

The first shooting was that of 20-year-old Milliken woman Cori Romero on the evening of April 22. She was driving southbound on Interstate 25, east of Fort Collins, at night when she suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. Romero had surgery that night and survived.

The second shooting, on the morning of May 18, was that of 48-year-old city of Windsor employee John Jacoby, who was riding his bike on Weld County Road 15 when he was shot twice and was found dead on the side of the road.

The two shootings were officially linked on May 28; the task force was established at the same time.

The third shooting occurred on June 3 when 65-year-old Connole was shot and killed while walking downtown late at night.

An attempted shooting was reported about a week ago to authorities that occurred the same night as Connole’s death, but no injuries were suffered.

Agencies Offer Reward

Larimer County Crime Stoppers officials increased the reward this week from $1,000 to $2,500 offered to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in the recent shootings.

Ray Martinez, a board director for the organization and former Fort Collins mayor, said the Crime Stoppers hopes for community involvement to raise the reward to $5,000.

Donations can be dropped off at the Fort Collins Police Services building, 2221 S. Timberline Road, Fort Collins, in a donation box or online at stopcriminals.org.

FBI officials also doubled the agency’s initial reward offering after the third shooting in Loveland.

Officials are now offering $20,000 for information leading to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the person or people responsible in the shootings.

Shattered Windows Reported

It was also released that a group within the task force has been assigned to investigate the numerous reports of vehicle windows that shattered while driving.

The shattered window incidents and the three shootings have not officially been connected.

However, officials say they believe these reports are coming in now more frequently because of a heightened sense of awareness and that the shattered windows are most likely being caused by road debris.

“To date, we have found no solid evidence that any of these incidents are related to our shootings,” a letter from the task force stated.

Capt. Robert Coleman, the task force’s commander, has assigned a unit within the investigating team to continue to respond to incoming reports of shattered vehicle windows in the area.

Dana Rieck: 970-635-3630, rieckd@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/DanaRieckRH