Colorado residents react to Lakewood's "Lookout Alert" after reports of man walking with rifle at Green Mountain Trail
Imagine receiving an alert instructing you to head to your basement and cover your windows because a dangerous individual is in the area. That's exactly what hundreds of Coloradans in Lakewood experienced when they received a "Lookout Alert" from the Lakewood Police Department on Monday night.
An hour later, an all-clear was given, but many were left with questions about what had happened.
CBS News Colorado obtained the 911 calls that prompted the alert to help understand the threat.
"I'm a hiker on Green Mountain Trail, here with a fellow hiker. There is a man with a rifle walking up the trail right now," one caller informed dispatch on Monday night.
Green Mountain is a popular area often bustling with visitors hiking and biking, and news of an armed man quickly spread.
"I pulled in, and some dude told me to get out of here because there was a disturbed guy screaming," another caller relayed.
Others who called 911 reported seeing the same man with an RV parked on the mountain.
"There's this camper that drove up on the trails," a third caller reported.
Lakewood police responded by sending out what's known as a lookout alert, containing a message advising residents to "close and lock all doors, stay away from windows, and move to the basement."
"It was kind of crazy," one hiker told CBS News Colorado.
She said the alert left her and her roommates on edge.
"We have a lot of lower windows, so we locked all those and locked all our doors," she said.
An hour later, she received the notice that the alert was lifted and that was it.
"There was just no information and we were all super confused by it," she added.
Several others took to social media to ask for an update, which came late the next day.
CBS News Colorado now knows that after an extensive search of the mountain on foot and with a drone, police eventually located the suspect and his camper.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Lakewood police said, in part:
"It's our responsibility to alert our community to any situation that may pose a danger to them... ultimately, the situation was found to be mental health-related as opposed to a concern for the safety of the neighboring community."
Because it is not illegal to openly carry in Colorado, the spokesperson said the man received a citation for a park violation.
Lakewood police say that with the help of their civilian co-responders, officers were able to get the person the help they needed, and the investigation revealed that at no point did the individual make a threat to anyone.
If you want to sign up for the lookout alerts you can at Smart 911.
