Where is the outrage?

It’s the question that should be gnawing at Denverites right now following last week’s horrific slaying of a 14-year-old Denver boy.

Josiaz “Jojo” Aragon’s body was found Monday, Aug. 8, two days before his 15th birthday, near a ballfield behind Denver’s Southwest Recreation Center. Aragon was shot, stabbed and beaten, apparently in broad daylight, according to Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner.

It was Denver’s 60th homicide so far this year — the city is on pace to exceed last year’s total of 96 — and in some respects this killing may be the most repugnant yet. And that’s considering Aragon is one of nine Denver homicide victims this year under 18 years old.

While Aragon’s family and friends grieve, what is the rest of the city doing to turn the corner on skyrocketing violent crime? Will we at last demand an end to the cycle of violence that has been gripping Denver, the rest of the metro area and much of the state?

Will Aragon’s heartbreaking death be Denver’s wakeup call? Maybe for the entire state?

Between 2010 and 2021 Colorado’s homicides more than tripled, from 101 to 364, according to data compiled by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. In that same time, incarceration has plummeted in Colorado and, more recently, penalties for many, wide-ranging offenses have been watered down or eliminated by state policy makers in a fit of “justice reform.”

In other words, Colorado has gone soft on crime — and is now paying the price.

Aragon’s death continues to mystify authorities who, as of now, have no suspects.

As The Gazette reported, friends of Aragon’s family are trying to grasp the senseless and brutal slaying. They are wondering why no one heard anything that afternoon.

Aragon’s body was found around 1:15 p.m. near the baseball field at the rec center at 9200 W. Saratoga Place. Police have distributed flyers with a photo of Aragon and an aerial map of the Southwest Rec Center in search of tips. The lifeguard who was on duty at the rec center’s pool around the time of Aragon’s death told police he heard a “pop” but didn’t hear any shouting. A rec center employee who asked to go unnamed told The Gazette the pool holds a free swimming period between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. every day and that often the mid-days are quiet, but no one working Monday witnessed what happened.

Meanwhile, is it possible our community has become numbed by the violence amid the city’s soaring homicide rate? Even in such a heartbreaking incident — in a display of such cruel and seemingly random violence?

Or, will this at last galvanize the public to call for a crackdown on the crime that is crippling our entire state?

“If they did this to a kid, what would they do to an adult?” a mourner at a candlelight vigil for Aragon told The Gazette. “Hold your kids close. Don’t let them go.”

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the homicide to call Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can be anonymous and are eligible for a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board