DENVER — On the day that marks one year since 16-year-old Luis Garcia was shot outside East High School, an attorney for the family said on Tuesday that police presented a case to the Denver District Attorney's Office, however, both agencies downplayed that assertion.
"The Garcias pray, hope that the Denver District Attorney's Office will be able to move forward with the case presented by the Denver Police Department," said attorney Matthew Barringer. "It has been an unbelievably difficult year for the Garcia family."
A spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney's Office said Tuesday that the case is still with the Denver Police Department. DPD said while detectives have made "significant progress" and have "consulted" with the DA's office they have not "formally" filed a case with them.
In the year since the shooting, Denver Police never announced the arrest of anyone on charges directly related to Luis' killing. Tuesday the agency said to "protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation, there are no updates or suspect information that can be shared, at this time."
Luis was shot on Esplanade as he was leaving East High on Feb. 13, 2023. He was taken off life support about two weeks later. His family said Luis was headed to a birthday party for a cousin when he was shot.
"We were going to celebrate our cousin's birthday and this year - we visited our brother, cousin, son at the cemetery," said Luis's older brother, Santos Garcia Jr. "I hope anyone who has information on the case or what happened can reach out to the police department."
Luis's father said their family was big on celebrations, but "everything changed" a year ago.
"Right now it's very hard. The Hispanic Mexican culture, we celebrate everything," he said. "We always had any excuse to have a party, you know, but now in my family, we don't do nothing anymore. He [Luis] was always singing. We don't listen to music because we remember his dancing. Everything changed for us, but I know we need to move forward."
Life-Line Colorado said losing kids to gun violence is something that happens too frequently.
"Some of these kids got awesome potential, and they haven’t unlocked it yet because they’re too busy focusing on survival," said Adrien Williams, the director of violence interruption for Life-Line Colorado. "That’s what it is now a days. It’s a survival game."
Life-Line Colorado offers a wide range of programs for both adults and youth to find love, acceptance and safety after traumatic events. The group also focuses on violence prevention.
"Any time there’s any type of violence in the community as far as shootings, stabbings, myself and my team are dispatched," Williams said. "And we just try to show up and help the community help the victim."
> Video below: Community group says gun violence among kids still an issue a year since Denver student was shot
After Garcia's shooting death and a March 2023 shooting when a student shot two East High administrators, parents, students, educators, DPS alumni, student caregivers and other concerned members of the Denver community formed the Parents-Safety Advocacy Group (P-SAG).
According to the group, Luis's family has been "seeking answers to their questions," about what happened when Luis was killed. They wonder whether any suspects are in custody or whether those responsible could be enrolled in Denver Public Schools (DPS).
Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, District Attorney Beth McCann, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas and DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero were invited to attend the news conference Tuesday, but only Garcia's family and attorney were there. Johnston was attending a meeting with the City Council at the time of the event. In its statement, Denver Police maintained that the chief did not receive an invitation, but said he "remains committed to helping them find justice for the loss of their loved one."
> Watch the news conference
Last May, Barringer said a "notice of claim" was sent to the City and County of Denver, the DPS Board of Education and East High School informing them of the intention to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Luis' death.
Berringer said Tuesday that the lawsuit has not been filed because they don't want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize a criminal investigation or prosecution.
"I don't want to see that kind of people in the street," said Santos Garcia Sr. about those responsible for his son's death. "Because everybody has family, you know."
Their attorney encouraged anyone with information about the crime to come forward to make sure the family gets justice.
"I'm asking the community directly, I am talking to you now. Whatever's holding you back, whatever you're afraid of, whatever is holding you back from reporting - it is never too late to do the right thing," said Barringer. "This family did nothing. Their son did nothing to deserve this horrific act."
Garcia's father said Tuesday that he's "happy" for other students that there's a police presence at East High and said he believes if it had been there a year ago, his son might be alive.
"I feel happy for other students, but why did they do that? After everything that happened? If they have that [police] car, those guys right there, the police department right there, my son is still alive," he said.
Barringer said that the car Luis' dad referenced is on Esplanade, just yards from where Luis was shot. He said while School Resource Officers (SRO) are a welcome sight, the district needs to do more.
"Not just the SROs, but when it comes to the matrix, other items, all of which may or may not be depending on where things go, [are] addressed in our lawsuit that we referenced back in May," Barringer said.
P-SAG's 1,500 members pushed for changes in security protocol and the return of armed SROs to schools around Denver. The group said, "School safety is a nonnegotiable condition for students’ emotional and psychological health and learning ability."
Some of those changes were made including bringing SROs back to Denver schools in the 2023-2024 school year.
In response to Barringer's call for more action, a Denver Public Schools spokesperson said in a statement, "Denver Public Schools has made many changes within our schools to ensure that students and staff are safe. As listed in our State of the District report that was shared last week, here are just a few of those changes: the return of School Resource Officers to our comprehensive high schools, the creation and implementation of the long-term safety plan, increased mental health support, and completion of the building safety surveys."
Hundreds of Garcia's fellow East High students and the Denver East Students Demand Action led a March 3 walkout from class to call for legislative action on gun safety at the state's Capitol.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime