A heavily armed man killed himself instead of carrying out a plan to attack with a firearm at a mountain amusement park in the US state of Colorado, local authorities said, cited by the Associated Press.
The 20-year-old was found dead in a Glenwood Caverns park toilet by a maintenance crew on Saturday morning before the park opened to the public. He was armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, a semi-automatic handgun and explosives and was wearing a bulletproof vest and clothing similar to what a member of the special forces might wear, authorities said.
A message was written on the wall of the toilet where the man was found lying on the floor: “I’m not a killer, I just want to get into the caves,” Garfield County Sheriff Lou Valario said. A gun and explosive devices, some real and some fake, were nearby, he added. The AR rifle was on a nearby counter along with a belt that held several magazines of ammunition.
Valiario cannot confirm whether the suspect left the message, BTA adds.
Multiple improvised explosive devices were found in the man’s car, authorities said.
Body of ‘heavily armed’ man with explosives found at Colorado amusement park, cops say https://t.co/jFVnAiVPSV
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“Given the preparation, given the amount of weapons and ammunition that he had, it almost seems very likely that this guy intended to use them against people. He chose not to,” Valario added. He also noted that the park would have been crowded on a fall weekend, and its remote location would have made it difficult to get the injured to a hospital in the event of an attack there.
The youth lived in a nearby town with his mother and brother and had no record. His guns were without serial numbers and could not be traced.
Photo: iStock by Getty Images Photo: BTA/AP
2023-10-31 06:15:12
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