October 2015 Colorado Springs shooting

On October 31, 2015, a shooting occurred near downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.^[1] The shooting began around 8:45 a.m., though a 911 call was placed 10 minutes earlier^[2] on the morning of Saturday, October 31, which was Halloween.^[1] Three people were randomly shot and killed^[3] by a gunman, later identified as 33-year-old Noah Harpham, as they were walking down Prospect Street^[4] near downtown Colorado Springs.^[1] A man riding a bicycle was the first victim shot^[5] after pleading for his life, according to eyewitness reports.^[6] The gunman then turned and ran, killing two women. These women were either killed randomly as the gunman ran down the street, firing at random^[6] or sitting on a porch targeted by the gunman.^[7] The gunman was later killed in a shootout with four police officers in which he was struck once.^[8][1][9] In total, there were three crime scenes. This was the first of two shootings in Colorado Springs in less than a month; the second was the Planned Parenthood mass shooting, 28 days later.

Perpetrator

33-year old Noah Jacob Harpham^[7] used a DPMS Classic 16, an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle, to kill victims.^[10] Harpham was also armed with a Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum revolver and a Springfield Armory XD-M 9mm pistol,^[7][11] although it does not appear that either pistol was used in any of the shootings. All three guns were legally purchased in 2009.^[12]

No motive was found for the shooting, and no apparent warning signs existed, despite a video and blog posted days earlier in which Harpham complained about his parents and family life.^[7][12] In the blog titled "Is my dad in a cult? Even worse, is it satanic?" he questioned his father's involvement with Bill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church, whom he accused of being a satanist trying to control the minds of his followers.^[13][14]Harpham's mother had written a book in 2013 which she stated that her son had issues regarding anger and alcoholism.^[15]

Victims

Andrew Alan Myers, 35, was the first person killed by Harpham.^[16] He was an Iraq War veteran, and the bicyclist who crossed Harpham's path.^[17] Christy Galella, 34, and Jennifer Vasquez, 42, were residents of the Platte House, a shelter for women recovering from drug and/or alcohol addiction.^[16] One of the women died in the house's doorway while the other was killed on the house's porch.^[16] None of the victims appeared to have connections to Harpham.^[16]

Criticism of police response

A 911 call was placed ten minutes before Harpham began shooting, as a neighbor reported Harpham walking around carrying a rifle and gas cans.^[18] Colorado is an open carry state, so the 911 operator dispatched only one officer who was later called off to respond to a disturbance that "threatened human life" at a senior home.^[18][19] No other officers were available to respond so the operator terminated the call.^[19] Four minutes later, the same caller called back to report Myers' death.^[19] There was nationwide outrage that the 911 operator did not do enough to prevent the shooting, but the department insisted the operator followed protocol.^[19][20] Many, including Colorado activist group Colorado Ceasefire, called on the city to ban open carry, though the mayor insisted they would not.^[18]

See also

• Colorado Springs shooting (disambiguation)
• List of shootings in Colorado

References

External links

• Colorado gunman who killed 3 posted blog before rampage from the New York Daily News via YouTube