Extra Security Now At Colorado Capitol
Metal detectors were back in place at Colorado's state capitol building Tuesday, after a gunman shouting that he was "the emperor" was killed by a state trooper just outside Gov. Bill Ritter's office on Monday.
Ritter was inside the office at the time but was not injured.
The man, whose name still has not been released by police, refused orders to drop his gun, spokesman Evan Dreyer said. Four or five shots were heard, but authorities would not say how many times the patrolman fired.
The man did not fire his weapon, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said, declining to say if it was loaded. The patrolman, whose name was not immediately available, is a member of Ritter's security detail.
Before he was shot, the gunman said, "I am the emperor and I'm here to take over state government," Dreyer said. The man had walked into the reception area of Ritter's office and was being escorted out before he produced a gun and refused orders to put it down, Jackson said.
It was the first deadly shooting at the Capitol in state history, reports Shaun Boyd of CBS station KCNC.
Police in the Denver suburb of Northglenn said the same man, identified by newspapers as Aaron Richard Snyder, 32, may have rented a tuxedo from a formal wear shop Monday morning.
Tobie Locke, a bridal manager at Mister Neat's in Northglenn, said a man came in around 10 a.m. Monday asking to rent a tuxedo and when asked the occasion said, "Today's the day of the emperor's reign."
Metal detectors were used in the Colorado Capitol in the months after Sept. 11 but were removed after lawmakers objected. They said it made it too hard for people to come and see their government in action.
The detectors are also usually installed temporarily during the governor's annual State of the State address in January but then are removed.
Only one entrance to the Capitol was open to the public Tuesday.
Ritter said Capitol security would be temporarily stepped up while lawmakers and others discuss any permanent changes.
"We live in a country where there is just that constant tension about security versus openness," he said.
"We have always said this building is the people's building and the place where we conduct business, and it's the people's business. There are going to be discussions going forward about how we achieve that right balance between security and keeping it open," Ritter said.
"It's kind of freaky someone could get that close," freshman State Rep. Edward Casso said.
The shooting occurred at about 2 p.m. in a hall outside the governor's offices on the first floor of the Capitol.
Ritter said he was in the office with 10 or 11 other people and heard shots, but he would not say how close he was to the gunman. He said some of his staff members witnessed the shooting.
Ritter, a former district attorney, reverted to his former occupation after the shooting.
"I went into the mode I would as D.A., which is to separate those heard something from those who saw something," Ritter said. "They were asked not talk to one another so as not taint their perceptions."
Jackson said the man, who appeared to be wearing a dark suit, had at least two confrontations with the governor's security detail in the moments before the shooting, but he did not give details.
"It was something to where we felt that it's a good possibility that it's the same guy," Northglenn police Sgt. Steve Garrow said.
He left with a standard black tuxedo, with a black bow tie and a black vest.
"He was very nervous, and sweating a lot, and breathing very heavy, but he never said anything threatening to me," Locke said. Still, "I had the impression he was going to hurt somebody," Locke said.
Although police would not confirm the gunman's identity, Thornton, Colo., officers were asked by Denver police to watch over a house Snyder lived with his parents, reports the Denver Post. Snyder's parents were taken to a police station late Monday evening as other officers questioned neighbors.
Authorities said there had been no specific threats against the governor before Monday's shooting.