An arrest has been made in the weekend drive-by shooting of 8-year-old Sierra Moore. Mayor John Hickenlooper held a press conference today, accompanied by Denver D.A. Mitch Morrissey and police chief Gerry Whitman.

“Let me be clear, this community will not accept violence. Not a day of it, not a week of it, not a month of it and certainly not a summer of it,” said Hickenlooper.

In a separate shooting incident early Sunday morning in LoDo, police shot two men, one fatally, after one fired a handgun in a parking lot. These are two tragic but unrelated incidents. No gang connections are believed to be involved in either one. Does Denver have a violent crime problem? Mayor Hickenlooper reminds us that it has declined by double digits in the past two years. Here are the stats from 1985 through 2005. Nor is downtown Denver less safe than other areas.

Last November, the police commander who oversees the district that encompasses Lower Downtown called the area “very safe.” Cmdr. Deborah Dilley said crime was down for the first nine months of 2007 from the previous year. And when compared with other areas, LoDo’s crime rates weren’t even in Denver’s top 10.