Colorado shooting spree suspect ID’d, police believe victims were targeted

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) – Investigators have identified the man who killed six people during a shooting spree in two Colorado cities Monday night.

Lyndon McLeod, 47, was killed by police after police say he carried out shootings in at least six locations across Denver and Lakewood.

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said McLeod had been on law enforcement’s radar during two recent investigations, one in 2020 and another in 2021, but neither resulted in charges.

Three of the victims were at tattoo shops when they were killed. Alicia Cardenas and Alyssa Gunn-Maldonado were at Sol Tribe Tattoo and Piercing on Broadway in Denver. Danny Scofield was at Lucky 13 Tattoo on Kipling Street in Lakewood.

Additionally, a woman working at a Hyatt House was killed by McLeod inside the hotel. Police said Tuesday afternoon a sixth person had died but didn’t immediately identify them.

Another shooting scene in Denver is where the Secretary of State’s office says McLeod once owned a tattoo shop called Flat Black Ink.

Police said they believe McLeod was targetting all of the people he shot, although they did not release a motive.

NewsNation affiliate KDVR spoke to Gabriel Thorn, a man who bought his home from McLeod about five years ago.

“There were numerous hidden gun safes in the walls of this house,” Thorn said. “He just disappeared off the face of the earth when we bought the house. My wife and I joke that he’s changed his name and moved out of the country.”

McLeod hadn’t legally changed his name, but he did write and publish a series of books called “Sanction” under the name Roman McClay. McLeod named the main character in the book after himself, and in a YouTube, interview said the premise is that the narrator is artificial intelligence.

The last listed address for McLeod was in Las Animas County, a county on Colorado’s border with New Mexico. Other than some minor traffic infractions, he does not appear to have a criminal history.