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Man named in suspected killer's book escaped targeted attack in Denver Monday

Jeremy Costilow said he and the suspected shooter were in the tattoo business together several years ago.

DENVER — The suspected shooter in Monday's crime spree published misogynistic alt-right books that named some of his targets. One of those targets was Jeremy Costilow. 

Costilow survived Monday's attack after coming under fire while his wife, 3-month-old daughter, and a friend were with him.

Costilow said he and the suspected shooter did business together at a tattoo shop in Denver called All Heart Industry. The store on 6th Avenue closed several years ago. Now a different tattoo shop, World Tattoo, is at that address.

"He was just mad that I didn't stick around to help make money off of other tattoo artists, I'm assuming," Costilow said. 

Costilow was a manager at All Heart Industry. He said the shooter helped with finances and ran the tattoo shop. After shutting down, the two of them parted ways. 

More than five years later, the shooter came to Costilow's home, which is connected to his business on 6th Avenue, and fired shots.

"The wall was shaking," he said. "Parts were coming off the wall, like he was coming through the whole door."

Costilow and everyone inside escaped. Costilow heard a loud bang when the shooter couldn't get to them. 

"There was an explosion at my van, and he completely blew my van up," he said. 

RELATED: Timeline: How shooting spree unfolded from Denver to Lakewood

This targeted attack is something Costilow said the shooter's ex-girlfriend warned him about years ago. 

"She said he was planning on killing me just because I walked away from the business," he said. "I wasn't really a part of the business. I wasn't on the paperwork to the business. I didn't make money from the business."

Costilow said the killer put a sticker on his business a while ago to tell him about his book, but Costilow never looked into it. 

"I didn’t like the man," he said. "We weren’t friends anymore. We were more acquaintances in business."

Costilow said he didn't know the shooter named him as a target in the book until after the shootings on Monday. 

RELATED: Alleged Denver, Lakewood killer wrote novels that contained scenes similar to Monday's rampage

Even with the warning of threats made against him, Costilow said he didn't think the shooter was actually going to kill somebody. 

"That's just the way he talks. He thinks he's a tough guy, so I mean, you know, he just had that tough-guy talk," he said.

Costilow said the shooter held grudges against people, especially those who told him they didn't like his attitude or the way he spoke to them.

"If he hated us that many years ago, why didn't he try something right then?" Costilow said. "I still can't understand it at all right now."

Costilow said Danny Scofield, the tattoo artist killed at Lucky 13 in Lakewood on Monday, used to work at All Heart Industry with the shooter. Former coworkers said they used to get into arguments.

After All Heart Industry's license expired in 2014, that spot was taken over by Sol Tribe Tattoo & Piercing, which was owned by Alicia Cardenas. Sol Tribe later moved to its current location on Broadway, which is where Cardenas and Alyssa Gunn-Maldonado were killed on Monday. Gunn-Maldonado's husband, Jimmy, was shot and taken to the hospital.

RELATED: Tattoo artists, hotel clerk among 5 killed, 2 injured in shooting spree

RELATED: Brother of man injured in shooting talks about loss and recovery

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