/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/26/2024-12-26t112006978z-wion-white-logo-for-website-2-1.png){kind=logo}
/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/13/2024-12-13t071548098z-wionlogo.webp)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2022/07/16/279708-screenshot-2022-07-16-191721.png)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2022/07/16/279708-screenshot-2022-07-16-191721.png)
/wion/media/post_attachments/files/2023/01/04/323165-untitled-design-2023-01-04t171300611.png)
Colorado
A gunman broke into the Colorado Supreme Court building in the US on Tuesday (Jan 2), firing a pistol multiple times and starting a fire in a stairwell. The suspect has been identified as Brandon Olsen, 44, who was arrested a few hours later.
The incident transpired around 1:15 am according to the Colorado State Patrol (CSP). Olsen fled the scene of a car crash near the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center and later shot through a window before entering the building.
Once inside, he forcefully retrieved the keys to other floors from an unarmed security guard. Police said Olsen pointed the pistol at the guard, took the keys and made his way to the seventh floor where he open-fired several shots.
The man was arrested around 3 am on charges of robbery, burglary and arson. The fire started by him in a stairwell was later extinguished by the Denver Fire Department.
After the fire, sprinklers on the seventh floor went off which left standing water in the building. Burnt documents were recovered and bullet damages were reported on the same floor as well, the police said in its report.
Watch | US News: Donald Trump barred from Colorado ballot | World News
Colorado justices and Trump
The incident comes in the backdrop of Colorado's justices receiving threats from the public ever since they barred former president Donald Trump from the presidential campaign.
The Colorado court last month, in a 4-3 ruling, used a rare constitutional provision that bars those from office who “engage in insurrection”.
Trump has been repeatedly accused of fanning the insurrection attempts in the aftermath of 2020 presidential election results. The Colorado Republican Party last week appealed the state Supreme Court's decision.
Contrary to earlier reports, the authorities cleared that Tuesday's incident appears unrelated to the Trump case.
“The CSP and DPD are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices,” the CSP said in a statement, referring to the Denver Police Department.
(With inputs from agencies)