News

Actions

Suspect in Denver shooting spree wrote a book that mentions victims by name

Denver and Lakewood shooting spree Dec 27 2021 3
Posted
and last updated

The suspect that police say killed five people in a string of shootings in Denver on Monday had self-published a book that mentions the victims who died in the shootings by name.

The suspect, 47-year-old Lyndon McLeod, was a self-published author under the pseudonym "Roman McClay," according to information provided to Scripps station KMGH in Denver, which has been corroborated.

Under that name, McLeod's most prominent book follows a character who shares the gunman's real name and lives in Colorado. In that book, some of the victims in Monday's shootings are mentioned by name.

The text can be best described as a men's rights movement manifesto in which McLeod ponders on the topics of hegemonic masculinity, feminism and the desire to commit mass murder.

During a news conference Tuesday, a spokesperson with the Denver Police Department confirmed the suspect was on the radar of law enforcement and had been investigated on two prior occasions — once in mid-2020 and most recently in early 2021. Police declined to answer questions about what those investigations entailed, only saying they did not lead to criminal charges against him.

Monday night's shooting spree spanned eight separate locations in Denver and the nearby suburb of Lakewood. Five people were killed, and three people were injured.