Suspect in Custody in Shooting of Denver Officer
DENVER, Colorado — A man arrested in the fatal shooting of a transit security guard late Tuesday night is a U.S. Army veteran who had been flagged by the FBI after an altercation at a mosque in Texas, reports say.
According to Denver 7, city police had no records on Joshua Cummings, 37, who is accused of walking up behind security guard Scott Von Lanken, 56, and shooting him in the neck as Von Lanken gave directions to two women.
The Associated Press reports Cummings lived in several places in Texas, most recently Austin, and he was charged with an unspecified misdemeanor five years ago. No details have been reported on the mosque altercation.
He had been in the Denver area since last fall and reportedly was a jiu-jitsu instructor. The Denver Channel reports Cummings sometimes disparaged police officers on his Twitter account.
Investigators say the attack occurred just outside of Union Station, a hub for buses and trains, in Denver at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Von Lanken was wearing a dark blue uniform and was armed, and investigators believe he might have been mistaken for a police officer. Police in the region have been told to be alert.
The two women with Von Lanken say the suspect had a swollen face and “weird-looking eyes” as he approached. The gunman is believed to have said “Do what you’re told” before firing.
Police have no motive for the shooting.
“We have concerns,” Denver police Cmdr. Barb Archer tells the Denver Post. “Was the officer a target because he was wearing a uniform?”
Cummings ran from the scene but was found hiding on the patio of a nearby apartment building. A 9mm handgun was recovered, reports say, and the ammunition in the weapon matched a shell casing found at the scene.
Von Lanken was a former police officer in La Crosse, Wis., and was a Christian pastor for nearly 30 years at churches in Arizona, Ohio, Texas, and Loveland, Colo., the Post reports. He was married for 35 years and a father of two adult twin daughters, one of whom is disabled.
“He was a much beloved figure in the area,” Loveland resident Dennis Severson tells reporterherald.com. “Many other pastors in the area had a lot of respect for him as a clergy in the region.”
Von Lanken’s wife, Shellie Von Lanken, said her husband would urge forgiveness for the gunman, the AP reports.
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