Jason Pohl

jasonpohl@coloradoan.com

The shooting of a teen in the back of the head during a September street party in Fort Collins may be connected to rival gangs, and the Denver mayor's son was in the vehicle when the near-fatal round was fired, court documents released Monday show.

Authorities were called at 2:43 a.m. Sept. 28 to the 2800 block of Eagle Drive in Fort Collins on a report of man shooting a gun and a large party in the street. Witnesses reported seeing approximately 100 people in the street when a verbal altercation started. Multiple witnesses from the central Fort Collins neighborhood reported hearing internationally known rival street gang chants from some in the crowd.

Witnesses initially told police that people in the crowd and occupants in an SUV got in a verbal altercation.

Others reported seeing 19-year-old Eddie Johnson at the gathering and in an SUV with a gun. One said 19-year-old Jalen Marquise Robinson was hanging out the rear passenger window of the SUV with a bottle of peach liquor. Moments later, a woman saw a "spark" on the back of Robinson's shirt, witnessed a flash of light from inside the vehicle and said it may have come from the SUV.

Robinson fell back immediately, and the woman told police she immediately heard someone from the SUV say, "you shot him..." referring to Johnson.

One of Robinson's friends told police she didn't think he would survive.

The SUV arrived at Poudre Valley Hospital, and Robinson was later transported to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, a bullet lodged in his forehead, records show. Police later found two .25-caliber shell casings on Eagle Drive in the area where the gathering took place. Upon further investigation, police located a box of shells in the SUV, but detectives never located the gun.

Robinson's family reported hearing that Johnson was responsible for the shooting, and they pointed to a Facebook post from someone that read, "man, how you gonna shoot your own homie."

The hospital declined to release Robinson's updated condition Monday evening, but police have said previously he is still alive.

Johnson, was arrested early Friday, Oct. 3, in Denver on suspicion of second-degree assault by recklessly causing serious bodily injury, a class-four felony. He was taken into custody without incident and is being held in the Denver County Jail, police said.

Fort Collins authorities are still actively investigating the case, the department said Monday. Johnson's mugshot had not yet been released due to the ongoing investigation.

Johnson, as well as Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's son, Jordan, and three other occupants were in the SUV. They were questioned by police and told authorities that nobody in the car had a gun. The shot, they told police, came from somewhere else.

"The Hancock family is heartbroken by this terrible incident and hopes and prays Jalen Robinson will recover quickly and that the case comes to a swift resolution," Mayoral Spokeswoman Amber Miller said in a statement Monday, adding that Jordan Hancock is going back to school in Atlanta, Georgia.

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