http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040604/APA/406040968
By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press Writer
GRANBY, Colo.
A man barricaded inside a fortified bulldozer went on a rampage through this mountain town Friday, firing shots and knocking down buildings as he plowed through the streets.
It was not immediately known whether anyone had been injured.
The scene was chaotic as the man rumbled through Granby, about 50 miles west of Denver. Witnesses said the machine took out trees, a light pole, a wall of the library and part of a new bank building. Grand County manager Lurlene Curran said she heard there was heavy damage to six or seven buildings, including the town hall, a newspaper office and a construction business.
County employees moved a large piece of highway equipment in the way to try to stop the man, but he simply turned around and kept plowing into buildings, Curran said.
"The piece of equipment is so big it's hard to stop," Curran said. "We're doing everything we can to stop this chaos."
State Patrol Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger said officers told him the driver had aimed his weapon at propane tanks. Gov. Bill Owens alerted the National Guard and was prepared to send troops to the town if requested, but local authorities had not asked for that help, Owens spokesman Dan Hopkins said.
The State Patrol said it closed all roads in and out of the town.
Store owner William Hertel said a man he did not know drove by his business in the bulldozer at mid-afternoon.
"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 told The Associated Press. He said he had heard numerous gun shots.
The bulldozer also knocked out natural gas service to City Hall and a cement plant, damaging a truck and part of a utility service center, Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said.
"He started on the west end of Granby and moved methodically to the east," Curran said. "It appears this individual has a plan in mind."
Granby is a town of about 2,200 at nearly 8,000 feet. It is near the Winter Park ski resort and not far from the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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.
Any body know if it is an EBR?
By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press Writer
GRANBY, Colo.
A man barricaded inside a fortified bulldozer went on a rampage through this mountain town Friday, firing shots and knocking down buildings as he plowed through the streets.
It was not immediately known whether anyone had been injured.
The scene was chaotic as the man rumbled through Granby, about 50 miles west of Denver. Witnesses said the machine took out trees, a light pole, a wall of the library and part of a new bank building. Grand County manager Lurlene Curran said she heard there was heavy damage to six or seven buildings, including the town hall, a newspaper office and a construction business.
County employees moved a large piece of highway equipment in the way to try to stop the man, but he simply turned around and kept plowing into buildings, Curran said.
"The piece of equipment is so big it's hard to stop," Curran said. "We're doing everything we can to stop this chaos."
State Patrol Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger said officers told him the driver had aimed his weapon at propane tanks. Gov. Bill Owens alerted the National Guard and was prepared to send troops to the town if requested, but local authorities had not asked for that help, Owens spokesman Dan Hopkins said.
The State Patrol said it closed all roads in and out of the town.
Store owner William Hertel said a man he did not know drove by his business in the bulldozer at mid-afternoon.
"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 told The Associated Press. He said he had heard numerous gun shots.
The bulldozer also knocked out natural gas service to City Hall and a cement plant, damaging a truck and part of a utility service center, Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said.
"He started on the west end of Granby and moved methodically to the east," Curran said. "It appears this individual has a plan in mind."
Granby is a town of about 2,200 at nearly 8,000 feet. It is near the Winter Park ski resort and not far from the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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.
Any body know if it is an EBR?
