Update – 6:51 p.m.: Police named the slain suspect and two victims from a shooting spree that happened Monday in two Colorado cities. The motive is under investigation.
They identified the gunman as Lyndon James Mcleod, 47. He died after injuring a Lakewood police officer, who managed to shoot back despite her wound to the abdomen, Lakewood police PIO John Romero said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Romero said a hotel clerk injured in the incident died Tuesday at a hospital, making her the 5th slain victim. He identified her as Sarah Steck, 28. Lakewood police previously said that a man died in the spree. Romero identified him as Danny Scofield, 38.
The Denver medical examiner’s office will identify the three slain victims from the shootings in that city, according to Denver police Commander Matt Clark.
Cops have said that the gunman went on a shooting spree, being in Denver, killing a total of three people in that city, and injuring one man. Mcleod soon went to the neighboring city of Lakewood, where he killed Schofield at the Lucky 13 tattoo parlor, Romero said in the update Tuesday afternoon. He later shot Steck several times at the Hyatt Hotel after a very brief conversation, Romero said.
The Lakewood police officer who killed Mcleod has undergone surgery and will need more, but she is in stable condition, he said. Romero identified her as a 3-year veteran of the department.
“Again, I can’t overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent,” he said. “In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat.”
It does appear that Mcleod was targeting people, at least in Denver, Denver police Commander Matt Clark said.
Police Chief Paul Pazen stopped short of releasing much more detail, however, citing the ongoing investigation, and voicing hope that people would step forward to give them information. Mcleod was on law enforcement radar from investigations in 2020 and early 2021, he said. Those resulted in no charges, but they are now part of the investigation into Monday’s shooting spree, he said.
Denver Police and Lakewood Police provide update on string of shootings Monday night. https://t.co/cOnlA5GkAC
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) December 28, 2021
Our original article is below.
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A gunman terrorized two Colorado cities on Monday, killing four people and injuring three, according to officials in both Denver and Lakewood.
The suspect died in a shoot out with police in Lakewood, though a law enforcement spokesman say it is not clear if officers struck the man with gunfire or whether he died by his own hand. The investigation is ongoing.
The suspect killed two women and injured a man a little after 5:00 p.m. at First Avenue and Broadway in Denver, Police Chief Paul Pazen told reporters during a press conference. The suspect committed another shooting at 12th Avenue and Williams Street, leaving one man dead, the chief said.
There was also an incident near Sixth Avenue and Cherokee Street, the chief continued. Officers believe the gunman opened fire there, but no one was hurt.
According to the official account, Denver officers found and chased the suspect vehicle and exchanged gunfire. No officers were injured.
“This is the holiday season,” Pazen said. “To have this type of spree take place is not normal for our community.”
The gunman disabled a police car and fled into the neighboring city of Lakewood, the chief said.
According to John Romero, that city’s police Public Information Officer, officers got a call just before 6:00 p.m. about shots being fired at a business in the 1500 block of Kipling Street. A victim there was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Officers got a description of the suspect and his vehicle and tracked him down in the Belmar area. There, they tried to make contact with the man, but he opened fire, Romero said. Cops returned fire; the driver fled in his vehicle and eventually on foot in Belmar, the spokesman said. The suspect “felony menaced” a business using a gun and later shot a clerk at another establishment, Romero said. The latter victim had to be hospitalized.
The shooter fled the area again, encountered law enforcement agents, and shot one of them, Romero said. The agent was undergoing surgery.
The gunman died during a shootout with agents, but it is unclear if Lakewood agents were the ones to kill him, Romero said.
There are no further threats to the community, he said.
“It’s a tough day for the Lakewood police family, obviously, when this happens to one of our own,” he said.
[Screenshot via KUSA]
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