Denver shootings suspect wrote books previewing attacks

DENVER (AP) — A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks.

Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman says the writings are part of the investigation into what led 47-year-old Lyndon James McLeod to carry out Monday’s shootings.

Four of the people shot were attacked at tattoo shops, raising questions about why they were targeted.

Police say McLeod knew most of the people he shot at several locations around the metro area, through either business or personal relationships. They were still investigating his motive.

McLeod once owned a business called Flat Black Ink Corp. at a Denver address that is now home to the World Tattoo Studio.

The first shooting happened at a tattoo shop about a mile away. Two women were killed there and a man was wounded. McLeod wounded an officer who then shot and killed the gunman in a shopping area in the Denver suburb of Lakewood.

Police say McLeod was on the radar of law enforcement. They declined to say what he’d been investigated for previously but noted no charges were filed.