Victim of Tuesday’s downtown Denver shooting has died

The woman shot yesterday at the Denver Alliance Center for Sustainability has died, according to Denver Police.

The department held a news conference this morning to update details on the Tuesday shooting at the center at 15th and Wynkoop Streets in lower downtown Denver.

The shooting took place at 2:42 p.m.; Denver Police responded within 7 minutes, only to find the shooter dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The victim was transported to Denver General Hospital but died this morning, according to spokesman Commander Ron Saunier.

The victim, according to KCNC, was Cara Russell, a former mayor of Buena Vista, Colorado. She was the executive director of Colorado Association for Recycling, a non-profit organization. She had filed for divorce from the shooter in April, according to Saunier.

The shooter came to Denver from Buena Vista, and had been under a mental health hold as recently as a week ago, Saunier said. The shooter, described as mentally unstable, had been barred from the Chaffee County airport for making comments, although Saunier did not say what those comments were.

The Alliance Center houses 49 non-profits, including many environmental and progressive organizations, such as Conservation Colorado and Colorado Common Cause. However, the victim was not affiliated with either of those groups.

This story will be updated as more details become available.

has been a political journalist since 1998. She covered the state capitol for the Silver & Gold Record from 1998 to 2009 and for The Colorado Statesman in 2010-11 and 2013-14. Since 2010 she also has covered the General Assembly for newspapers in northeastern Colorado. She was recognized with awards from the Colorado Press Association for feature writing and informational graphics for her work with the Statesman in 2012.