Man shot, killed in Colorado Capitol



Associated Press
July 16, 2007

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DENVER (AP) — An unidentified man armed with a gun was shot and killed outside Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's office in the state Capitol on Monday, Ritter's spokesman said.

The governor was not injured, spokesman Evan Dreyer said. He said Ritter was in the Capitol at the time but he would not say where.

"The governor is fine," he said. "Everybody is a bit rattled."

Dreyer said the man refused orders to drop his gun and a member of Ritter's security detail opened fire.

Four or five shots were heard, but authorities would not say how many times the security officer fired.

Before he was shot, the man said, "I am the emperor and I'm here to take over state government," Dreyer said

The shooting occurred in a hallway outside the governor's first floor offices, which include a lobby and several other rooms.

The Capitol has no metal detectors. The devices were installed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks but were removed within months. They are usually put in place during the governor's annual State of the State address in January but then are taken away again.

State Rep. Edward Casso said he saw the gunman after the shooting and described him as being in his 30s or 40s, dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks.

Casso said a state patrolman told him to evacuate, and "I started to panic a little bit. I was just hoping that was the end of it."

Casso, a first-term Democrat from Commerce City on Denver's northeast edge, said the Capitol should have metal detectors.

"It's kind of freaky someone could get that close," he said.

Authorities roped off the area where the man was shot, and an ambulance and eight police cars converged on the building's north entrance.

Pat Garriott said he was eating in the Capitol's basement cafeteria when he heard shots.

"We heard a series of loud bangs, about four," he said. "My partner and I looked up and saw a flash of smoke. We figured out it was probably gunshots."

He said security agents rushed them into a basement office for safety and kept them there for about 20 minutes.

For more information on this developing story, be sure to check the Tribune Web site throughout the night and read tomorrow's Tribune.


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