Police said one person was killed and eight others were injured after gunfire broke out between two groups in the parking lot of Ultra Lounge East in southeast Denver. Police say it happened just after midnight on Monday.
The shooting came as Denver City Council considers a proposal to overhaul licensing rules for bars and clubs.
The proposal would allow bars to stay open until 4 a.m. although alcohol sales would still end at 2 a.m. It also includes new safety requirements for qualifying establishments.
On Monday, council members postponed the proposal, just hours after the shooting outside Ultra Lounge East.
Eric Escudero with Denver’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection said the city’s rules governing bars and nightclubs have not been updated since the 1980s.
“This is looking at common sense regulations that should have been changed decades ago. And now we have an opportunity to make Denver safer,” Escudero said.
The 33-page proposal would require certain nightlife establishments to install security cameras, conduct background checks on bar managers, maintain a safety and security plan and take reasonable measures to keep weapons off the premises.
Escudero said there are currently no strict regulations for bars to keep weapons out.
“Now a nightclub can control that, they can say, ‘we don’t want weapons in here’, but we don’t have rules right now,” Escudero said. “That’s how old these regulations are.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said many downtown bars already have their own security measures, including metal detectors, but Escudero said the proposal would give the city more authority to enforce required safety features.
“Bars have to do their part, too. If a bar doesn’t have security or isn’t maintaining that set of safety, that’s their own responsibility,” Johnston said. “We’ll look at intervening or shutting them down if they don’t meet that obligation.”
