Troopers kill Capitol gunman

Mike McPhee
Denver Post
Tuesday July 17, 2007

Gov. Bill Ritter was interviewing a judicial candidate in his office when he heard shots ring out this afternoon.

The governor spoke on the steps of the state Capitol barely two hours after a gunman who claimed he was "the emperor" who had arrived to take over state government was killed by state troopers.

The man was shot just outside the governor's office around 2:25 p.m., in front of more than a dozen tourists and state workers.

State troopers, who provide security inside the statehouse, ordered the man to drop his gun. He didn't, and they shot him. The man died where he fell.

All the witnesses were taken to Denver police headquarters for questioning, and Ritter said he was "mindful" of the trauma they'd experienced.

"I have a great security detail. They take great care of me," said Ritter, when questioned about whether he felt safe.

Ritter would not provide many details about the incident, citing his experience handling investigations as Denver district attorney.

The man's identity has not been released. No one besides the gunman was hurt, spokesman Evan Dreyer said.

The Capitol is on lockdown while police investigate. The governor's office, near the front entrance, is closed for renovations. Ritter has been using offices on the north end of the first floor and was there when the man entered the Capitol. Dreyer said he was in his office at the south end of the first floor and did not witness the shooting.

Art Mendoza, 44, and his wife Rosa Moreno, 28, both of Los Angeles, were touring the second floor of the Capitol when they heard three shots fired. Moreno looked down and saw a person falling to the ground.

Moreno said that when she first heard the shots, she thought it was staged for the tour. Then she looked toward the sound.

"I saw the back of the guy as he fell down," Moreno said. "I just saw him drop."

A group on a tour of the Capitol saw a man in a tuxedo kneeling in the hallway praying. A few minutes later, they heard someone yell, "You're going to pay for this, you (expletive)."

The group of 12 to 20 people then heard gunshots, and afterward, many of them were in tears. Some of them were crouched on the floor hugging each other.

There were at least three different tour groups roaming the Capitol at the time of the shooting. After the shots were fired, the groups were told to stay where they were. One was in the Dome on the upper level, one was on the first floor and one on the second floor.

About 20 minutes later, an unidentified staff member at the Capitol came to the group on the second floor. She was breathless because she had run up the stairs.

"There's been a shooting at the governor's office," she said. "I don't know what's going on. We've been asked to evacuate the building."

Denver police responded to the scene, as did Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.

At a news conference shortly after the shooting, State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins said five troopers responded to a call from the governor's office. He said he did not know how many troopers were involved in the shooting. Four troopers are assigned to the Capitol; two are assigned to the governor and two provide transportation and additional security in the Capitol.

Rep. Edward Casso, D-Thornton, said he was returning to his third floor office from lunch when he heard the commotion. Looking down from the second floor, Casso saw a man lying in pool of blood, with blood splatters behind him.

Casso described the man as a white male, 30 to 40 years old, about 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighing about 225 pounds. Casso said the man was dressed in black or blue slacks and a white shirt.

He said 10 to 15 state troopers had secured the area around the governor's office, and one of them "was visibly shaken," he said.

Republican state Sens. Mike Kopp of Littleton and Andy McElhany of Colorado Springs said they were meeting in the Senate minority offices when they heard four loud bangs. They thought the sounds were from construction work.

Then a staffer burst into the room and told them there was a shooting.

"Your mind immediately races to the other tragedies that have taken place," Kopp said.

Both senators were certain that Capitol security would become part of the political debate in the next legislative session. They said that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, metal detectors were placed in the Capitol, but they were removed after about a year when members of the House and Senate decided they were not necessary.

State Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, said it is the first time she is aware of any security breach during her nine years at the Capitol. She said she would not seek security changes, such as installing metal detectors at the doors. "It would really make me sad if we had to shut down buildings," she said.

She added: I still don't feel threatened. I can't be intimidated by feeling that someone is going to come into the Capitol and put my life at risk." Denverpost.com will update this story as quickly as information becomes available.

Denver Post staff writers Mark Couch, Jennifer Brown, Felisa Cardona, Nick Martin and Karen Crummy contributed to this report.