DENVER — Denver Police on Tuesday identified the man who was taken into custody after police said he made his way inside the Colorado Supreme Court building, fired shots and set a fire early Tuesday morning.
Brandon Olsen, 44, is being held in the Denver jail on suspicion of:
- Robbery
- Burglary
- Arson
About 1:11 a.m., police responded to the area of 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street for a two-vehicle crash. One person involved in the crash pointed a handgun at the other driver, according to Colorado State Patrol.
Then the man shot out a window on the east side of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center and entered the building, state patrol said.
While inside the building, the man held an unarmed security guard at gunpoint and demanded access to other parts of the building, a release from Colorado State Patrol said. The man took keys from the security guard and went into other parts of the building, state patrol said.
Denver Police officers and CSP troopers responded and set up a perimeter, CSP said.
The man made his way to the seventh floor and fired shots inside the building, state patrol said. At some point, he also started a fire in a stairwell, which was extinguished by Denver firefighters. The fire was contained by the building's sprinkler system and did not spread to other parts of the building, according to Denver Fire.
About 3 a.m., the man called 911 and surrendered to police. No injuries were reported from the incident, according to state patrol. There was extensive damage done to the building.
Police took the suspect to a local hospital to be cleared by medical personnel, state patrol said.
According to CSP, the damage done to the building was significant and extensive. DPD reported there was standing water throughout the entire seventh floor and burnt paper in water.
Both DPD and CSP said they do not believe this incident is related to the recent threats against Colorado Supreme Court justices.
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