The suspect in the shooting and killing of a private security officer in Denver is believed to be a radical Muslim, law enforcement sources said. Scott Von Lanken, 56, who worked for the RTD security firm, was shot and killed in Union Station Plaza this past week.
Speaking to Fox 31 Denver, police identified the suspected shooter as 37-year-old Joshua Cummings. Police say that the suspect was carrying jihadist materials in his backpack, all of which are now being investigated.
Two women who were witnesses to the slaying say that they were speaking to the officer and asking him for directions when a man approached the officer from behind, pointed a gun at his neck and fired. Cummings was found hiding 20 minutes after the shooting and was arrested without incident. Police also recovered the firearm they believed was used to kill Von Lanken, who died at the scene.
The Denver Police Department says that the RTD officer may have been executed for wearing a uniform.
“It’s really disheartening when anyone loses their life, but especially when we have someone out there providing safety to the community at large,” police chief Robert White said.
Cummings has since been charged with first-degree murder, and made his first court appearance this past Friday. Cummings, who sports a scraggly beard, was presented to the court with his hands and feet in shackles. He requested a Koran from the court as he was being escorted from the courtroom.
Members of the Muslim community in Denver, Colorado say they warned federal law enforcement about Cummings in 2016, saying they believed he was “pretty advanced on his path of radicalization” and “not listening to reason.”
An e-mail sent to the Department of Homeland Security on December 24, 2016 warned authorities that a man who identified as “Joshua” was preaching violence to “establish the rule of Islam” by force. He’d also apparently rebuked a Muslim presenter at an event for being “soft” and not enforcing the Hudud—criminal laws in Sharia.
Scott Von Lanken, a devoted pastor and former police officer, leaves behind his wife, Shellie, and two children.
“I just love him so very, very much and I just want everybody to just realize — just love the people you love today. You don’t know if you’re going to have them tomorrow,” Shellie Von Lanken said.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
