An armed man found dead at an amusement park researched mass shootings. His plan is still a mystery
DENVER — A heavily armed man found dead last year at a mountaintop amusement park in Colorado had been researching mass shootings online, but investigators have been unable to determine why he amassed such an arsenal or failed to carry out “whatever he planned” the authorities said. Thursday.
The body of Diego Barajas Medina, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was found on the morning of October 28 in a bathroom at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in a building with a ride that drops 115 feet into caverns. . His body was surrounded by alcohol and weapons, according to a previously released 911 call. The words ‘I am not a murderer. I just wanted to go into the cave’ were neatly written on the bathroom wall.
The discovery led to the belief that Medina, who entered the park when it was closed, may have been planning to launch a deadly attack on the attraction above the Colorado River in western Colorado. But three months later, his intentions remain a mystery.
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a written update on its investigation that it “could not discover any motive for Diego to amass such a deadly arsenal, nor did it explain what happened to cause him to change his mind and why he did not follow through with what he did.” he did too. schedule.”
Despite the description of the 911 call, no alcohol or illegal drugs were found in his system and there was no evidence he had worked with others or was a member of an extremist group, the sheriff’s office said. He also had no criminal record or known ties to the park. Friends, family and school officials described Medina as “a bit of a loner,” it said.
“Diego ultimately took his own life in the women’s restroom at the amusement park for reasons known only to him,” the report said.
Medina’s family has never spoken publicly about what happened. His brother did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment and a person who answered his phone hung up when The Associated Press reached him.
Medina, who lived with his mother and brother, was dressed in black tactical gear with patches and decals that made him appear to have ties to police. He had a semi-automatic rifle, a semi-automatic pistol and multiple loaded magazines for each weapon, as well as several hundred rounds of ammunition, the sheriff’s office said. He also had real and fake homemade explosives.
Medina acquired all of his guns, ammunition and tactical gear legally online, the sheriff’s office said. Both weapons were determined to be so-called ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms without a serial number that anyone can buy and build without passing a background check, the report said.
“The Sheriff’s Office recognizes that given the amount of weapons, ammunition and explosives found, Diego could have carried out an attack of devastating proportions on our community, resulting in multiple injuries and possible deaths to both the public and first responders. As a community, we are fortunate and grateful that this did not happen,” the sheriff’s office said.
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Associated Press writer Jesse Bedayn contributed to this report.