Task force breaks silence

Authorities in northern Colorado are seeking the public’s help for clues.

loveland» The task force investigating a series of six random shootings in northern Colorado that left two people dead and another wounded remains largely where it began one year ago: with no arrests and pleading for the public’s help.

Officials said they have investigated and ruled out 12 people of interest, fielded more than 5,000 tips and evaluated more than 300,000 phone records.

At a news conference Tuesday, task force members broke seven months of silence and revealed that the investigation has expanded its focus to six cases and now involves a second vehicle of interest.

They also provided the first real glimpse at the investigation, including surveillance video taken from two of the shooting scenes and maps of the confirmed and suspected routes the gunman or gunmen used to flee each shooting.

Investigators expressed confidence they will uncover those responsible.

“The task force believes these cases will be solved with the help of the community,” said David Moore, spokesman for the Northern Colorado Task Force.

Moore said the six shootings

under investigation — between April 2015 and September 2015 — have been broken into three pairs with respective forensic connections. However, the pairs still have not been linked to each other by evidence.

The task force, made up of federal, local and state officers, is investigating them together, though, because of their one significant similarity: inconsistency.

“The big commonality is they are random,” said Capt. Bob Coleman of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, who is overseeing the task force. “They are at people, and their intent is they are shooting into vehicles or at people with the intent of causing serious bodily injury or death.”

Authorities are searching for two vehicles of interest; an orange pickup from model years 1973 to 1987 and a red Mini Cooper that authorities believe is a 2002-07 model year.

Officials believe the pickup was involved in the second pair of shootings and the car in the final two.

The task force declined to say what firearms or caliber bullets were used, explaining that releasing such information could put their investigation at risk. Authorities also wouldn’t discuss any forensic evidence gathered, their tactics or a suspected motive.

The Mini Cooper — a previously undisclosed clue — was used in two shootings Sept. 13. A suspect or suspects fired at Banner Health Center windows where employees were visible inside. The other was at Fort Collins’ Cottonwood Plains Elementary School, which was unoccupied at the time.

Investigators initially characterized their probe of the last two cases as precautionary but now appear to be zeroing in on them. No one was hurt in either shooting.

Jim Davis, who served as special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver division from 2008 to 2011, said cases like the one before the task force are among the most difficult to solve.

“It almost turns out that you’re hoping something happens again so you get a witness or some evidence you haven’t been able to get previously,” said Davis, who is not involved in the task force.

Davis explained there is also the real possibility of copycats playing off each other, which could complicate the investigation.

“In a truly random-type crime, you’re either hoping the perpetrator talks to somebody or there is some forensic evidence left at the scene (that) would be of some value,” Davis said. “It looks to me like they’ve got neither of those here.”

The task force was formed in May 2015 after officials linked the killing of bicyclist John Jacoby in Windsor and the April 2015 wounding of Cori Romero, who was shot in the neck driving on Interstate 25.

“After a year, I hope they do (catch him),” Romero told Denver7. but she said she wasn’t sure they could because the shooting happened with no witnesses or surveillance cameras.

The task force also is investigating the June 3 slaying of 65-year-old William Connole in Loveland and a linked shooting 2 miles away that same day. The victim in the fourth incident was unhurt.

As the investigation into the shootings continues, authorities are encouraging the public to be alert and aware of their surroundings. The task force urged people walking outside or biking to travel in groups.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information on the cases. Tipsters are asked to call the task force’s tip line 970-4985595.