Police arrested a man early Tuesday morning for allegedly breaching the entrance of the Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, and taking a security guard hostage at gunpoint.
Around 1:15 a.m., a driver involved in a car crash outside the Colorado Supreme Court made his way into the building after robbing a security guard of his keys, KDVR reported. While inside, the suspect roamed through several floors and fired off bullets that damaged windows, according to the outlet.
A suspect was arrested early on Jan. 2 after breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building in Denver and opening fire at responding police officers, local media reported, citing authorities https://t.co/GRpL4UipnL pic.twitter.com/P7NlJHiRtR
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) January 2, 2024
By 3 a.m., the suspect called 911 and surrendered to authorities after reportedly causing “significant and extensive damage” to the judicial center. There were also reports of a fire in a stairwell that triggered the building’s sprinkler safety system, but police could not confirm what caused the flames, according to Denver 7.
“CSP and DPD are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court justices,” Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said Tuesday morning, according to Denver 7. (RELATED: Meet The Four Judges Who Kicked Donald Trump Off The Colorado Ballot)
CSP maintains this is an isolated incident from the court’s decision to kick former President Donald Trump off the state ballot, however local police will continue to investigate a possible motive.