Teen charged with murder in drive-by shooting at Denver Downtown Aquarium

Denver police officers investigate the scene of a shooting outside the Denver Aquarium in Denver on February 14, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Two teenagers were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting of 19-year-old Dacien Salazar outside the Downtown Aquarium in Denver in February.

According to court records, Antonio Vasquez, 19, and Jason Trujillo Jr., 17, were arrested May 1 and charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of felony enhancement of sentence.

According to a redacted affidavit, Vasquez and Trujillo were identified as suspects as part of a months-long police investigation that included gang-related social media threats, surveillance videos, ballistics reports and cellphone location data.

Salazar and two friends drove from Pueblo to Denver on Feb. 14 to visit the aquarium at 700 Water St.

As the group was leaving the aquarium around 3 p.m., a black sedan pulled up and a person in the back seat wearing a black mask began shooting at them, witnesses told police.

Salazar was struck several times and taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The other two people were not injured in the shooting.

Friends of Salazar told police that he “had a lot of people coming after him” and shared screenshots of gang members threatening him on Facebook, including threats from Trujillo, the affidavit said.

Police redacted the gang's name, threats against Salazar and details of a related shooting in Pueblo from the affidavit.

Investigators identified the car used in the drive-by shooting, a 2014 Chevy Malibu, and a makeshift license plate from surveillance video in the area and linked it to Vasquez, who lives in Pueblo.