Denver police received warning about shooting spree gunman and his books almost a year before killings

Denver constabulary received a informing a twelvemonth agone astir the antheral who killed 5 radical successful an onslaught crossed the Denver metro and the publication the gunman wrote detailing immoderate of the killings.

A German antheral contacted Denver 311 connected Jan. 3, 2021, astir Lyndon McLeod and wrote, “I deliberation that determination is simply a small, but undeniable possibility, that the accused whitethorn perpetrate a violent attack.”

The German man, Andre Thiele, said successful an interrogation Monday with The Denver Post that helium contacted Denver constabulary aft speechmaking McLeod’s books and participating successful a chatroom for fans of the book. The gunman participated successful the chat and made progressively alarming statements that prompted Thiele to interaction authorities, Thiele said. Thiele besides submitted a extremity online to the FBI and sent them a missive via mail, helium said.

“I cannot successful bully conscience accidental that helium volition enactment with certainty,” Thiele wrote successful a missive to Denver police, which helium provided to The Post. “But I tin accidental that IF helium should act, the effect would beryllium devastating. He past would halt astatine nothing.”

Denver constabulary connected Tuesday confirmed they received a extremity from a idiosyncratic successful Germany successful January 2021 citing concerns astir McLeod, including accusation astir a fraud that progressive a imaginable unfortunate extracurricular of Colorado. Denver constabulary could not nexus McLeod to a Denver code and had nary crushed to judge McLeod was surviving successful Denver astatine the time, Denver constabulary spokesperson Doug Schepman said successful a statement.

“DPD is reviewing the investigation, but based connected our archetypal review, determination was not capable grounds to record transgression charges oregon a ineligible ground for monitoring McLeod astatine the time,” Schepman said.

The reappraisal of the January 2021 probe volition besides see whether detectives work McLeod’s books, Schepman said. The self-published books described a quality named “Lyndon MacLeod” sidesplitting immoderate of the radical helium killed during his Dec. 27 spree of violence.

Denver constabulary Chief Paul Pazen antecedently said that McLeod had been the taxable of 2 instrumentality enforcement investigations: 1 successful 2020 and 1 successful aboriginal 2021. He refused during a Dec. 28 property league to elaborate connected the quality of the investigations.

Email records Thiele provided to The Denver Post amusement that a Denver constabulary detective contacted Thiele via email connected Jan. 4, 2021, and said helium would look into his concerns. Thiele sent the detective 2 documents that outlined his concerns astir McLeod and included statements McLeod made successful the chatroom that disquieted Thiele.

“Though the publication is not governmental per se, it could beryllium work arsenic an extremist right-wing manifesto and a violent prophecy,” Thiele wrote successful 1 of the documents.

“It whitethorn precise good beryllium that the accused is simply a emblematic lawsuit of a literate genius and a petty thug, who runs his rima and talks excessively much,” Thiele wrote. “I would from my idiosyncratic experiences accidental that this mightiness beryllium a 90% chance. But determination is simply a 10% chance, that helium has – astatine slightest successful his ain caput – created the cleanable tempest of right-wing terrorism.”

The detective responded a fewer minutes aboriginal thanking Thiele for contacting Denver constabulary and said helium would scope retired if helium had immoderate further questions.

That was the past Thiele heard from the department, Thiele said, though helium aboriginal heard from astatine slightest 2 radical helium listed successful the missive that they had been contacted by instrumentality enforcement.

Thiele did not cognize astatine the clip helium made his study to constabulary that immoderate of the radical McLeod’s main quality killed successful the books were existent people.

Thiele astatine archetypal was a instrumentality of McLeod and his publication and started interacting with him successful 2019. It wasn’t until helium participated successful a fans-only chatroom with McLeod that helium became alarmed. McLeod recommended books that were fundamentally neo-Nazi pamphlets, Thiele said, and made concerning remarks astir wanting to commencement a war.

“Only aft I got to cognize him amended and the world of his beingness and the world of his points of view, I realized that this was not a caller but a manifesto, oregon a missive of commitment,” Thiele said Monday.

Thiele said helium didn’t cognize if his alarm was much than a hunch, but wanted trained instrumentality enforcement professionals to instrumentality a look astatine McLeod and implicit their ain hazard assessment.

“Tragically, they didn’t spot what I saw,” helium said. “I saw done the jokes and saw the feline underneath it. I’m bittersweet I couldn’t beryllium it.”