Denver police are investigating what appears to be an arson homicide after five people were found dead inside a bar early Wednesday morning, officials said.
The five victims, which included four women, appeared to have suffered trauma prior to the fire, Robert Wright, the chief of the Denver police said at an early morning press conference. He said the investigation is ongoing and there are no suspects.
The fire broke out at Feros Bar and Grill at around 2 a.m., just about the bar's closing time. No other details were immediately available.
The five are believed to be the only ones in the bar when the fire started -- other than whoever is responsible for their deaths --so police are asking anyone else who was at the place earlier to come forward, as investigators try to piece together what happened.
The victims haven't been identified. Autopsies were expected to be completed later in the day.
The fire didn't appear to be a very large one. No damage to the bar was visible from the street or aerial news coverage.
The bar is located in a strip mall about five miles south of downtown Denver just outside of the tony Cherry Creek North shopping district on one of the city's busiest streets, Colorado Boulevard. In listings in Denver's alternative weekly, Westword, Fero's is described as a "longstanding dive" that attracts regulars as well as people staying in nearby hotels. It shares the strip mall with a check cashing store and a car repair shop.
The bar's owners couldn't immediately be reached for comment. No one answered the door at the Aurora home of Young Fero, listed in state records as one of the owners of the bar. A sign on the door read, "Day sleeper, please don't ring the doorbell! Thank you." It was signed "The sleeper."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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