DENVER - A family survived a shooting in west Denver only to find themselves in handcuffs.

They sent 9NEWS a newstip, saying police treated them like criminals when they were actually victims.

Police say what those family members did after the shooting led to them being detained.

Nathaniel Alarid was working at his auto detail shop Wednesday afternoon when an SUV pulled up to the front gate.

Alarid thought it was a customer and walked towards the SUV as a passenger jumped out.

"He pointed the gun like that and said 'What up G?' and took one at my head. Missed," Alarid said. "It's crazy. It's just insane."

He says the man kept shooting.

"It's amazing I'm still here," Alarid said.

The bullets barely missed Alarid and his younger brother, hitting his uncle in the ankle.

"Our biggest concern was getting him to the hospital at first," Alarid said.

Instead of calling police, they drove their uncle to the ER in Thornton.

"We were just scared and we left," Alarid said.

Alarid's fiancee Daneia Villalovas says she was having a panic attack.

"I needed my medication to calm down," Villalovas said.

They drove home to Northglenn to pick up her meds.

They still hadn't called police, but witnesses in Denver did.

Instead of reporting the shooter's SUV, one caller described Alarid's bullet-riddled dark blue Mercedes.

When Northglenn Police spotted that Mercedes in front of Alarid's home on the 11000 block of Emerson, officers moved in.

"We're telling them we're the victims, we're the victims," Villalovas said.

Villaovas says she suffered another panic attack and fainted.

Northglenn police spokesman Sgt. Ron Haralson says officers had to put everyone in handcuffs "for the safety of everyone involved."

Police arrested two of Alarid's family members on outstanding charges unrelated to the shooting.

"It was really humiliating to be honest," Villalovas said.

They now admit it was a mistake to leave the shooting without calling police.

"I guess just stick around and wait for them," Alarid said.

They hope officers find the real suspects, before they shoot someone else.

We want these people to get caught," Villalovas said.

Denver police are looking for a charcoal grey Chevy SUV, either a Suburban or Tahoe.

Officers suspect this shooting is gang related, although Alarid insists he has no connection to any gang and believes he was targeted at random.

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