Police did not release details about what happened and have not released any names.
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Of the six injured, three were in critical condition and three in serious condition, it said.
But Stephen Stubbs, a lawyer for the Mongols, said the two groups got into a fist fight after exchanging words, and once the Mongols got the better of them, an Iron Order member brandished a handgun, and began firing.
“One of our members is African-American and one of the Mongols made a racial slur”, and a fight ensued, Whitfield said. One Iron Order member was shot, another stabbed and a third beaten, Whitfield said.
Police Chief Robert White told reporters that it was unclear what prompted the incident at the National Western Complex, where the Colorado Motorcycle Expo was being held this weekend.
As police investigate a fight that left one person dead and seven others injured at a motorcycle expo in Denver, representatives of rival motorcycle clubs are blaming each other.
“We strongly suspect there’s more than one shooter”, said Chief Robert White of the Denver Police Department in a news conference on Saturday. The Denver Health Medical Center said its paramedics brought in seven people – including one deceased. Prisons spokeswoman Adrienne Jacobson confirmed an employee was involved in the shooting but would not identify him.
The City of Denver, police, and event organizers are likely going to be going through this weekends event information that led to the shooting.
Attorneys for two biker groups, including one made up mostly of law enforcement, have blamed each other for inciting the violence.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said the Mongols are heavily involved in drug dealing and racketeering.
That investigation had nothing to do with the people at Saturday’s show, said Stubbs, who disputed Whitfield’s self-defense claim.
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Stubbs said he believes Denver police are releasing few details because the Iron Order membership includes law enforcement officers. They will be trying to evaluate what failed and where, in order to determine if it is plausible to continue hosting the Colorado Motorcycle Expo.
