Business was brisk Monday at the 7-Eleven store on the 16th Street Mall where a store clerk was shot a day earlier in broad daylight.

Police say the shooting was a "fluke" in one of the most well-patrolled parts of the city.

The injured clerk, identified by police as 37-year-old Ali Bashir Abu Zama, of Denver, is expected to survive. He has worked at the store for nearly a year.

His condition was upgraded to serious from critical at Denver Health Medical Center. A 7-Eleven spokeswoman said he was "alert and responsive."

Zama was working on an especially busy Sunday afternoon after a Colorado Rockies game when a gunman entered the store, shot him in the head then took off on foot.

The 22-year-old suspect, Broderick Roddy, was caught with a .40-caliber handgun in his pocket a few blocks away. Police described him as a transient.

For the most part, people who work, shop and dine downtown didn't seem concerned for their safety in the wake of the shooting.

"It could happen anywhere," said Wayne Williams, 48, of Lakewood, who works downtown for Qwest.

Cathy Murphy, who bought a Lotto ticket from the 7-Eleven on Monday and whose children attended Columbine High School, called the shooting an aberration.

"It's just another bad thing," Murphy said. "You deal with it for a moment then move on. Most places downtown, you feel totally safe."

Police statistics seem to back up that sense of security.

Cmdr. D.K. Dilley, who oversees police in the downtown area, said violent crime has dropped 24 percent over last year at this time.

Property crime has dropped 9.2 percent, she said.

"Being on the 16th Street Mall is always a very safe thing, number-wise," she said. "What happened (Sunday) was absolutely a fluke."

More police on patrol

Dilley assigned six new foot patrol officers in the core downtown area, including the mall, during the spring in response to safety concerns raised by a downtown revitalization task force. Mounted police, motorcycle police and routine patrol cars are in the area.

"There is more police coverage downtown than there is technically anywhere else," Dilley said. "I have gotten a lot of feedback from businesses and residents saying things are a lot better."

Sarah McClean, spokeswoman for the Downtown Denver Partnership, said that in addition to more police, the revitalization task force is working to improve lighting for pedestrians and to crack down on illegal liquor sales.

A major effort also is under way to reduce panhandling. Panhandling on the mall has declined 90 percent in the past year, McClean said.

"Safety is something we take very seriously," McClean said.

Suspect advised

Roddy, the suspect in the shooting, was advised of the attempted murder charge against him Monday. Bail was set at $100,000.

Court records show Roddy spent a few days in the Denver jail after having pleaded guilty to shoplifting in January and April. In June 2006, Roddy pleaded guilty in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Police said the suspect had been loitering in the store at 820 16th St. for a few minutes when Zama asked him if he was going to buy anything, according to an affidavit released Monday and witness accounts.

Zama told the suspect to leave if he was not going to buy anything. Witnesses said Roddy angrily left then returned a few minutes later. Zama again told him to leave. That's when the suspect allegedly pulled a gun, turned and fired.

The violence was a little too close for comfort for Jeremy Lyman. Lyman is the assistant manager of the Famous Footwear store next to the 7-Eleven.

"I never really worried about (crime) at all," Lyman said Monday. "This is kind of scary."

Downtown crime

• 100: Violent crimes (homicide, sex assault, aggravated assault, robbery) in the business district from January through June this year, compared with 132 for the same period in 2006, a 24 percent decline.

• 611: Property crimes (burglary, larceny, theft from vehicles, stolen cars) during that period, down from 673 in 2006, a 9 percent decline.

• 1,033: Incidents of all crime, down from 1,161, an 11 percent decline.Source: Denver Police Department

poppenj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5176

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