The case centers on a public intersection, a scooter rider and an SUV police say carried the shooter.
DENVER, Colo. — A shooting at a downtown Denver stoplight has turned a routine scooter ride through the central business district into an attempted murder case with questions about motive, bond and public safety.
Nico Francis was shot in the neck shortly before midnight April 3 near 18th and Stout streets, a corridor used by transit riders, downtown workers, pedestrians and people moving between nightlife areas. Police say Anthony Davon Apodaca, 31, fired from a white SUV after an unprovoked confrontation. Apodaca has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and was later released on a $75,000 bond with restrictions.
The setting was part of what made the case stand out. Francis said he had left the Santa Fe Art Walk and was riding a Lime scooter toward friends near Colfax Avenue. He took what he considered a familiar downtown route. Near 16th Street, he saw a white Chevrolet SUV stopped at a light as a passenger shouted at people on the sidewalk. The passenger then turned toward him, Francis said. The brief encounter appeared to end when the man returned to the SUV, but Francis said the vehicle later caught up to him at 18th and Stout streets.
At the red light, Francis said, the passenger had a gun out. Francis told local reporters that he tried to lower the tension and said he did not know the man or want trouble. The passenger remained confrontational, and Francis said he heard comments that made him fear the weapon might be used. As the SUV started to pull away, the gun was still pointed at him. A shot rang out. Francis said he first felt a strange vibration through his body, then saw blood and realized he had been hit in the neck.
Police reports and witness accounts described the same general sequence. Officers were called to the area just before 11:45 p.m. and found Francis wounded. A witness said the SUV passenger had been yelling at people near a bus stop before asking Francis whether he had a problem. Francis told police he said no. Investigators said the passenger then fired one round. The SUV left the scene, but officers soon stopped a white Chevrolet Tahoe matching the suspect vehicle. Multiple occupants were detained, and one identified Apodaca as the shooter, according to reports on the arrest affidavit.
The public nature of the shooting left investigators with several possible sources of evidence. Reports on the affidavit said surveillance footage helped connect the alleged shooter to Apodaca through clothing and the vehicle. Witnesses also described the confrontation before the shot. Police have not announced a motive, and no report has shown that Francis knew Apodaca before that night. Francis said the attack felt completely random. He said he believed the people in the SUV were looking for a fight, but that remains his view, not an official finding.
After the shot, Francis said, the busy downtown setting briefly felt empty. His right arm stopped working, and his phone was covered in blood. He tried to call 911 but struggled with the screen. He said he approached a nearby vehicle and asked the people inside to call police, but they left. Another man then came back to help. Francis said the bystander put pressure on the wound and helped him make the call. “Without him, I wouldn’t have been alive,” Francis said. The man’s identity was not publicly known in the early reports.
The injury carried serious medical consequences. Francis has said doctors told him the bullet missed major arteries in his neck by millimeters and avoided his spinal cord, but damaged his shoulder area and left his right arm with limited function. He said he has faced pain, loss of independence and uncertainty about whether his arm will fully recover. He expected to be away from work during rehabilitation. The wound also brought emotional strain. Francis said he replayed the shooting and could not understand why someone he did not know would shoot him at a stoplight.
The bond decision added a second point of conflict after the arrest. Apodaca was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and later charged. Prosecutors asked for a $100,000 cash-only bond. A judge set a $75,000 bond that allowed surety. Conditions included home confinement, GPS monitoring and firearms relinquishment. Francis said those restrictions did not ease his fear. He said learning that Apodaca was out of jail while he was still recovering made him feel less safe, especially because the alleged attack had no clear reason.
Francis’ comments also placed the case in a larger downtown conversation without turning it into a simple symbol. He said he had loved Denver’s downtown and often pushed back when friends or co-workers called the area unsafe. He walked his dogs there and enjoyed going out in the central city. After the shooting, he said the same area felt different. “I don’t even understand why it happened to me,” Francis said. “I’ve never seen this guy in my life.” His account gave the case a personal frame beyond the police timeline.
The court case was expected to address the criminal charge, the bond conditions and the evidence from witnesses, video and the SUV stop. Public reports did not say whether anyone else in the vehicle had been charged. The role of the driver and other passengers, the final motive and the long-term effect of Francis’ injuries remained unresolved. For now, the clearest facts are that one shot was fired, one scooter rider survived and one man is facing an attempted murder charge.
As of May 6, Apodaca’s case was pending in Denver County Court, and Francis was continuing treatment and rehabilitation. The next public filings or hearings are expected to show how prosecutors plan to prove what happened inside the SUV before the shot.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.