Santos Garcia, the father of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, wipes away tears while speaking to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)
First year anniversaries are tough.
A year ago today, on Feb. 13, Luis Garcia was shot in his car after school on the north side of the East High School campus.
The 16-year-old soccer player succumbed to his injuries two weeks later.
“Today is a sad day,” Matthew Barringer, a Greenwood Village attorney in Arapahoe County representing the Garcia family, said Tuesday. “Today commemorates the one-year anniversary when Luis Garcia was brutally murdered in front of East High School.”
A year later, police have still not arrested a suspect.
Doug Schepman, a spokesman with the Denver Police Department, could not be immediately reached for comment. Matt Jablow, spokesman Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, could not be immediately reached for comment.
At the time of the shooting, Garcia was headed to pick up his cousin for a birthday party.
The case, Barringer said, has been presented to the Denver District Attorney’s office.
Barringer declined to say anything more, explaining the family did not want to hinder any investigation.
Barringer and Santos Garcia, father of Luis Garcia, urged the public on Tuesday to come forward with any information that might help police apprehend the killer.
“Somebody knows something,” Barringer said.
In May, Santos Garcia filed a wrongful death claim against Denver Public Schools, seeking damages in excess of $1 million.
State statute requires a claim notice before any action can be brought against a public entity or employee.
The claim asserts DPS was negligent because of “the lack of security and/or sufficient student parking at Denver East High School” and specifically sites the removal of school resource officers or SRO.
The teen’s death, followed by a shooting a month later that injured two East administrators, set into motion student walkouts and the return of armed police officers in the district’s comprehensive high schools.
In June 2020, the school board had unanimously voted to sever ties with Denver Police following the public outcry and nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Santos Garcia, the father of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, wipes away tears while speaking to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Photos of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, cycle on a screen behind Garcia’s father Santos Garcia, who wipes away tears while speaking to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Jovana Garcia Bobadilla, the sister of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, wipes away tears as the family’s attorney Matthew Barringer, speaks to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Criselda Bobadilla Sandoval, the mother of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, is comforted by Garcia’s brother Santos Garcia during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Criselda Bobadilla Sandoval, the mother of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, is comforted by Garcia’s brother Santos Garcia during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Photos of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, cycle on a screen behind Garcia’s family as the family’s attorney Matthew Barringer speaks to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Criselda Bobadilla Sandoval, the mother of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, is comforted by Garcia’s brother Santos Garcia during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)Matthew Barringer, center, who is representing the family of Luis Garcia, who was shot on February 13th of 2023 in front of East High School and died two weeks later from his injuries, speaks to media during a press conference at the Barringer Law Firm office on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette) ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca82bd62b4ee425c598527cd6faa1b1?d=mm&r=g)
