1 Dead After Shooting Amid Rallies Outside Denver Art Museum

DENVER, CO — A private security guard has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting Saturday afternoon near the Denver Art Museum, police said.

A man was shot "at point-blank range," according to several witnesses. The victim was hospitalized and later died, police said.

"The private security guard in custody was contracted through Pinkerton by 9NEWS," the outlet reported. "It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests."

A 9News producer was also taken into custody, but later released after investigators learned the producer wasn't involved in the shooting, according to the report.

Patch reached out to Pinkerton but did not immediately hear back.

Members of the media were covering a clash between a far-right militia group's "Patriot Rally" and a BLM Antifa Soup Drive, which was hosted by the Denver Communists and Denver-Boulder Socialist Revolution groups.

Witnesses said that after an argument broke out, one of the "Patriot Rally" attendees sprayed a man with what appeared to be pepper spray or mace, and he retaliated by shooting back, according to a report by The Denver Post.

Videos and photos posted on social media show deputies and officers in SWAT gear, telling a man to drop his gun. He appears to comply and officers hold him to the ground.

Officers blocked off a large area on 14th Avenue between Bannock Street and Broadway while an investigation was underway.

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No further details about the shooting were released.