Armed Man Levels Buildings In Colo. Town With Bulldozer
Town Evacuated; Rampage Destroys Newspaper Office, Damages Town Hall
Wayne Harrison, Senior News Editor
POSTED: 5:30 pm EDT June 4, 2004
UPDATED: 7:07 pm EDT June 4, 2004
DENVER -- An armed man on Friday began knocking down buildings in a small Colorado town using an armor-plated bulldozer.
Witnesses in the small mountain town of Granby say the man first ran the bulldozer through the library and town hall, which are in one building, and also smashed through the Sky-Hi newspaper office, demolishing it.
There are unconfirmed reports the bulldozer driver is armed with a large-caliber automatic weapon. Officers said the weapon being used by the man was the size of a .50-caliber machine gun.
The Colorado State Patrol closed U.S. Highways 34 and 40 around Granby. The mountain town is located at the intersection of the two highways.
Several eyewitnesses told KMGH-TV in Denver that the scene in the downtown area is chaotic and numerous law enforcement officers were in the area, shooting at the bulldozer.
The bulldozer driver also ran through the cement plant and an Xcel Energy building, and over at least one police car, witnesses said. He then headed west out of town, pursued by law enforcement vehicles.
A short time later, he turned around drove back into town and attempted to knock down a department store. The store has a large basement, and the bulldozer may be immobilized in the building. That's where a SWAT team was moving recently.
The bulldozer was heavily fortified, with steel plates welded onto it, and it also had areas from which the driver could shoot. One witness described some areas on the bulldozer as "gun turrets."
The Grand County Road and Bridge Department moved a large piece of equipment into the path of the bulldozer in an effort to block it.
"The piece of equipment is so big it's hard to stop," said Lurlene Curran, the Grand County manager. "We're doing everything we can to stop this chaos."
"He has systematically severely damaged the town of Granby," Curran said.
Some residents in the small community were evacuated from the area for their safety.
The identity of the bulldozer driver was not immediately known. The bulldozer is said to be D-5 Caterpillar.
Source: http://www.wjactv.com/news/3383738/detail.html
Breaking News - Armed Man Levels Buildings In Colo. Town
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tomboudreau
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Oh my goodness!!!! Hope everyone is okay.
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The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or storm2k.org. For official information, please refer to the NHC and NWS products.
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or storm2k.org. For official information, please refer to the NHC and NWS products.
Yes, I remember watching footage of that tank incident. Eventually, a police officer was able to get into the tank's hatch and kill the idiot. A totally justifiable shooting in the circumstances.
Another memorable event was a guy on an extremely powerful motorbike (capable in ideal conditions of accelerating from 0 t0 120 mph in just over 4 seconds!) successfully evading police. He would've got away too if it weren't for a news helicopter equipped with a good camera (the only thing in the area that was just fast enough to keep up with him [the camera, not the helicopter]) that kept the police informed of his position.
Eventually, the guy (seeing the helicopter on his tail at every turn) decided to call it quits: he just stopped the bike, got off and lay on the ground with his hands behind him waiting for the cops to come and arrest him.
Another memorable event was a guy on an extremely powerful motorbike (capable in ideal conditions of accelerating from 0 t0 120 mph in just over 4 seconds!) successfully evading police. He would've got away too if it weren't for a news helicopter equipped with a good camera (the only thing in the area that was just fast enough to keep up with him [the camera, not the helicopter]) that kept the police informed of his position.
Eventually, the guy (seeing the helicopter on his tail at every turn) decided to call it quits: he just stopped the bike, got off and lay on the ground with his hands behind him waiting for the cops to come and arrest him.
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GalvestonDuck
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stormchazer
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Maybe he is a Terminix representative who went overboard?!
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Josephine96
Man in Bulldozer Rampage Found Dead
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
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By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer
GRANBY, Colo. - A muffler shop owner who plowed a makeshift armored bulldozer into several buildings after a dispute with city officials was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a SWAT team cut their way into the machine with a blowtorch early Saturday, authorities said.
AP Photo
Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holahan confirmed that the driver, identified by the town manager as Marvin Heemeyer, appeared to have shot himself.
Heemeyer plowed the armor-plated bulldozer into the town hall, a former mayor's home and at least five other buildings Friday before the machine ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse.
City officials said he was angry over a zoning dispute and fines from city code violations at his business.
Authorities detonated three explosions and fired at least 200 rounds against the heavy steel plates welded to the bulldozer, which looked like an upside down Dumpster. After the third explosion failed, officials cut their way in with a blowtorch, Holahan said.
A statement from Grand County Undersheriff Glen Trainor said the driver was found around 2 a.m.
Holahan said Heemeyer was armed with a .50-caliber weapon but appeared to be deliberately avoiding injuring anyone during the rampage, which began Friday at about 3 p.m. No other injuries were reported.
Trainor said the dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of half-inch steel with a layer of concrete between them.
Investigators searched the garage where they believe Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement, armor, steel and a homemade crane.
Residents of this mountain tourist town of 2,200 described a bizarre scene as the bulldozer slowly crashed through buildings, trees and lampposts, with dozens of officers walking ahead or behind it, firing into the machine and shouting at townspeople to flee.
"It looked like a futuristic tank," said Rod Moore, who watched the dozer rumble past within 15 feet of his auto garage and towing company.
One officer, later identified as Trainor, was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe.
"He just kept shooting," Moore said. "The dozer was still going. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust. It didn't do a thing."
A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect.
"Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street. "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second."
At least 40 deputies, Colorado State Patrol officers, federal park and forest rangers and a SWAT team from nearby Jefferson County were at the scene.
Town manager Tom Hale said Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute that allowed a cement plant to be built near his muffler shop. Heemeyer also was fined $2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and for other city code violations at his business, Hale said.
When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards," Hale said.
"We felt he was venting his frustration that he didn't get his way," Hale said of the note. "We didn't think he was going to do something like this."
Trainor said he believes Heemeyer spent months armoring the bulldozer, and investigators were looking into whether he had help.
Hale said owners of all the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes.
The buildings included the cement plant, a utility company, a bank, a newspaper office, a hardware store and warehouse, the home of former Mayor L.R. "Dick" Thompson and the municipal building, which also housed a library.
Crumpled patrol cars and service trucks lay in the dozer's path. A pickup was folded nearly in half and had been rammed through the wall of a building.
Gov. Bill Owens traveled Friday night to Granby, about 50 miles west of Denver and 10 miles south of Rocky Mountain National Park.
State aid will be available to help rebuild local government buildings, and state officials will help businesses seek federal help, said Mike Beasley, director of the state Department of Local Affairs.
William Hertel, owner of High Altitude Audio, said the bulldozer drove by his business at mid-afternoon, crushing aspen trees and light poles after the rampage began around 3 p.m.
"I was up on the roof when he came by. I got down and got my wife and kids out of the back of the building," Hertel said. He said he had heard numerous shots.
The scene was reminiscent of a 1998 rampage in Alma, another town in the Colorado Rockies. Authorities said Tom Leask shot a man to death, then used a town-owned front-end loader to heavily damage the town's post office, fire department, water department and town hall.
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!
By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer
GRANBY, Colo. - A muffler shop owner who plowed a makeshift armored bulldozer into several buildings after a dispute with city officials was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a SWAT team cut their way into the machine with a blowtorch early Saturday, authorities said.
AP Photo
Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holahan confirmed that the driver, identified by the town manager as Marvin Heemeyer, appeared to have shot himself.
Heemeyer plowed the armor-plated bulldozer into the town hall, a former mayor's home and at least five other buildings Friday before the machine ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse.
City officials said he was angry over a zoning dispute and fines from city code violations at his business.
Authorities detonated three explosions and fired at least 200 rounds against the heavy steel plates welded to the bulldozer, which looked like an upside down Dumpster. After the third explosion failed, officials cut their way in with a blowtorch, Holahan said.
A statement from Grand County Undersheriff Glen Trainor said the driver was found around 2 a.m.
Holahan said Heemeyer was armed with a .50-caliber weapon but appeared to be deliberately avoiding injuring anyone during the rampage, which began Friday at about 3 p.m. No other injuries were reported.
Trainor said the dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of half-inch steel with a layer of concrete between them.
Investigators searched the garage where they believe Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement, armor, steel and a homemade crane.
Residents of this mountain tourist town of 2,200 described a bizarre scene as the bulldozer slowly crashed through buildings, trees and lampposts, with dozens of officers walking ahead or behind it, firing into the machine and shouting at townspeople to flee.
"It looked like a futuristic tank," said Rod Moore, who watched the dozer rumble past within 15 feet of his auto garage and towing company.
One officer, later identified as Trainor, was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe.
"He just kept shooting," Moore said. "The dozer was still going. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust. It didn't do a thing."
A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect.
"Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street. "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second."
At least 40 deputies, Colorado State Patrol officers, federal park and forest rangers and a SWAT team from nearby Jefferson County were at the scene.
Town manager Tom Hale said Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute that allowed a cement plant to be built near his muffler shop. Heemeyer also was fined $2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and for other city code violations at his business, Hale said.
When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards," Hale said.
"We felt he was venting his frustration that he didn't get his way," Hale said of the note. "We didn't think he was going to do something like this."
Trainor said he believes Heemeyer spent months armoring the bulldozer, and investigators were looking into whether he had help.
Hale said owners of all the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes.
The buildings included the cement plant, a utility company, a bank, a newspaper office, a hardware store and warehouse, the home of former Mayor L.R. "Dick" Thompson and the municipal building, which also housed a library.
Crumpled patrol cars and service trucks lay in the dozer's path. A pickup was folded nearly in half and had been rammed through the wall of a building.
Gov. Bill Owens traveled Friday night to Granby, about 50 miles west of Denver and 10 miles south of Rocky Mountain National Park.
State aid will be available to help rebuild local government buildings, and state officials will help businesses seek federal help, said Mike Beasley, director of the state Department of Local Affairs.
William Hertel, owner of High Altitude Audio, said the bulldozer drove by his business at mid-afternoon, crushing aspen trees and light poles after the rampage began around 3 p.m.
"I was up on the roof when he came by. I got down and got my wife and kids out of the back of the building," Hertel said. He said he had heard numerous shots.
The scene was reminiscent of a 1998 rampage in Alma, another town in the Colorado Rockies. Authorities said Tom Leask shot a man to death, then used a town-owned front-end loader to heavily damage the town's post office, fire department, water department and town hall.
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Skywatch_NC
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abajan wrote:Yes, I remember watching footage of that tank incident. Eventually, a police officer was able to get into the tank's hatch and kill the idiot. A totally justifiable shooting in the circumstances.
Another memorable event was a guy on an extremely powerful motorbike (capable in ideal conditions of accelerating from 0 t0 120 mph in just over 4 seconds!) successfully evading police. He would've got away too if it weren't for a news helicopter equipped with a good camera (the only thing in the area that was just fast enough to keep up with him [the camera, not the helicopter]) that kept the police informed of his position.
Eventually, the guy (seeing the helicopter on his tail at every turn) decided to call it quits: he just stopped the bike, got off and lay on the ground with his hands behind him waiting for the cops to come and arrest him.
Guess they didn't have any "stop sticks" back then...
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