4 shot in rampage attacked at tattoo shops

Four of the people shot in a deadly rampage in Denver were attacked at tattoo shops, raising questions about why they were targeted.

Police say Lyndon James McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot Monday in several locations around the metro area, through business or personal relationships. They were still investigating his motive. Five people were fatally shot in less than an hour and two others were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit.

McLeod once owned a business in Denver called Flat Black Ink Corp. at an address that is now World Tattoo Studio, according to records from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. A man who answered the phone at World Tattoo Studio hung up after he was asked about McLeod on Tuesday evening.

The first shooting took place at another tattoo shop less than a mile from that address.

Matt Clark, commander of the Denver Police Department’s Major Crimes Division, said Tuesday the gunman did not know the last person he shot —a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood’s Belmar shopping area. Sarah Steck, 28, who died of her injuries Tuesday. However, McLeod had had some dealings with the hotel, Clark said.