BLOODY DENVER SPREE
Gunman kills 5, wounds 2 before being slain
The man who killed five people and ounded two others in a shooting spree across Denver’s metro area knew and targeted most of his victims, police said Tuesday.
The bloody rampage — which appeared to target tattoo parlors — began in Denver’s Belmar shopping district around 5 p.m. Monday when Lyndon McLeod, 47, killed two women and wounded a man, Denver police said. The wounded man is expected to recover.
After that, McLeod fatally gunned down another man several blocks away, inside a home, cops said.
Police exchanged gunfire with McLeod, but he got away after “disabling” a squad car by shooting it up, authorities said.
Within an hour McLeod was in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, where he fatally shot a man in a tattoo parlor, police said.
Lakewood cops spotted the suspect’s car and a gunfight erupted before McLeod ran into a nearby Hyatt hotel, where he shot the desk clerk and then a police officer. The clerk was rushed to a hospital, where she later died — the fifth victim of McLeod’s rampage. The officer is expected to recover.
Lakewood police finally cornered McLeod — and he opened fire, according to department spokesman John Romero. The cops fired back, killing McLeod.
On Tuesday, flowers were left outside the Sol Tribe tattoo parlor, where the first shooting occurred, and cops counted bullet holes in parked cars and store windows.
Alicia Cardenas, 44, the owner of Sol Tribe tattoo shop in downtown Denver, was one of the two women killed there. Her devastated father, Alfredo Cardenas, told Fox31, he’s worried about his grandchild.
“Just thinking about her not being around,” Alfredo Cardenas said. “It’s way too soon. It’s way too soon. And I’m real concerned about her (12-year-old) daughter.”
Danny “Dano” Scofield was the man fatally shot at the Lakewood tattoo parlor. The 38-yearold tattoo artist and father of three was at work at Lucky 13 Tattoo when he was slain.
Grainy black-and-white surveillance video appeared to show the gunman entering Scofield’s tattoo shop in Lakewood, remaining inside for about 10 seconds and driving away in a van.
McLeod once owned a tattoo shop in the Denver area, but it is now under a different name, according to state business records. Police believe he targeted his initial victims, but changed tactics when he entered the Hyatt. Cops said he spoke briefly with the clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, before killing her. The two had no prior contact, according to police.
While Cardenas, Scofield and Steck have been identified, the identities of the two other victims, along with the wounded man and the wounded officer, have not been publicly released.
Monday night’s bloodshed marks the 687th mass shooting in 2021, identified as four or more people killed or injured, not including the suspect, in the U.S. in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
It was the third mass shooting in Denver, according to the archive. In the other two incidents, two people were killed and eight more were wounded.
The deadliest mass shooting of the year occurred just 25 miles north in Boulder, where 21-year-old Ahmad Alissa fatally shot 10 people at a King Soopers supermarket. Alissa is facing more than 100 charges. He was recently declared mentally unfit for trial.