DENVER — A Denver-area man who went on a shooting rampage Monday night targeted the victims and left behind an online profile full of hate, according to reports.
Lyndon McLeod, former owner of a tattoo business, killed five people before being shot to death himself, authorities say.
According to the Denver Post, McLeod, 47, released one of three novels in 2018 that had a character who committed a murder at an apartment complex, which was nearly identical to one of the shootings in Monday's deadly shooting spree.
Police: Denver shooting spree suspect targeted victims, had been previously investigated
According to a Daily Beast study of social media posts, McLeod appeared to be an author committed to alt-right ideologies, which include violence.
The report revealed, McLeod was "an author dedicated to alt-right philosophies, including masculine supremacy, contrarian COVID-19 beliefs, and targeted violence against the 'weak.'"
Denver police Chief Paul Pazen told reporters at a press conference that the gunman had been "on the radar of law enforcement" before the violent outburst.
Surveillance video shows Denver shooting suspect entering tattoo shop
Four of the victims died on Monday and one died in a hospital on Tuesday.
The assassinations started in Denver and ended in a Lakewood shopping center.
WATCH: Surveillance video from Monday’s crime spree shows the suspected shooter walking into a Lakewood tattoo shop with a gun.
— Evan Kruegel (@EvanKruegel) December 28, 2021
Police say he killed someone inside.
10 seconds later, he walks out and hops in his car, appearing to turn into oncoming traffic on Kipling. @KDVR pic.twitter.com/eWwIFIYanO
In less than an hour Monday night, at least eight areas heard gunfire. According to Fox News, one of the places was the previous location of McLeod's tattoo shop.
According to The Daily Beast investigation, McLeod seemed to routinely use snippets from his work to comment on current events in his posts, such as a COVID disinformation meme on Twitter starring Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The billionaires were "discussing" their strategy to the pandemic in the meme, which was shared on May 1 last year. Gates was praised for mandated vaccines, while Zuckerberg was praised for a "injectable nanoworm."
McLeod, who was shot by a Lakewood cop on Monday, reportedly replied to the photo with a remark from one of his series' characters: "It's not really a worm so much, however I understand the point."
According to The Daily Beast, McLeod also reportedly made posts that "gleefully" indicated that some people need to be handled with violence.
“Our entire society is made up of shitty little fucks who insult badasses & get away with it because law enforcement & social norms protect the WEAK from the STRONG. I’m over it," one of McLeod's comments on a YouTube video read, "The weak better buckle up... shit is about to get real."
According to the Daily Beast, right-wing rapper and social media sensation Nzube Olisaebuka Udezue, better known by his stage name Zuby, welcomed McLeod on his podcast in 2019 to discuss one of his books. Though he admitted he had not read the book, the host stated it was "currently blowing up Twitter."
How to help the victims of the Denver shooting spree
We're learning more about the victims in the shooting spree that left 4 dead and three injured across the #Denver metro Monday Night.
— Alex Rose (@AlexRoseNews) December 28, 2021
Here are their stories: https://t.co/94ldFuFhIw @KDVR pic.twitter.com/9uGFMNzyEh
According to the Denver Post, Alicia Cardenas, 44, and Alyssa Gunn Maldonado were among those murdered in the gun spree. The identity of a third victim has yet to be released.
