A heavily armed man killed himself rather than carry out an apparent plan to shoot up a Colorado mountaintop amusement park, authorities said Monday.
Diego Barajas Medina, 20, was found dead in a women’s restroom Saturday morning by a maintenance crew at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park before it opened to the public.
He apparently entered the park while it was closed, armed with an AR-style rifle, a semi-automatic pistol and explosives.
Barajas Medina was wearing body armor and tactical gear, similar to what a police SWAT team member might wear, authorities said.
On the wall of the bathroom where the man was found lying on the floor, a message was written: “I’m not a murderer, I just want to go into the caves.”
Glenwood Caverns theme park is located in Glenwood Springs, 160 miles east of Denver
People ride the Giant Canyon Swing at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said there was a gun and explosives nearby – some real and some fake.
The AR-style rifle sat on a nearby counter, along with a duty belt containing several ammunition magazines.
Vallario could not say for certain that the man had left the message.
There were no previous clues, either at home or at school, to indicate the man was planning an attack, Vallario said.
But he noted that researchers have not yet conducted in-depth interviews.
The FBI will help review Barajas Medina’s phone records and social media messages as part of the investigation, he said.
“Given the preparation, given the amount of weapons and ordinances he had, it almost seemed very likely that he intended to use them against the community. He chose not to do that,” Vallario said.
Multiple improvised explosive devices were found in Barajas Medina’s vehicle, police said.
Glenwood Caverns is located in a remote hilltop location 160 miles east of Denver
Authorities searched the rest of the park for other explosives but suggested no others had been found.
The park would likely be busy on a fall weekend during hunting season, when people head to the mountains to see the changing fall colors, Vallario said.
And given the isolated location of the park, where visitors normally take a gondola, it would have been difficult to get injured people to the hospital, he said.
Barajas Medina was from the nearby town of Carbondale, where he lived with his mother and brother.
A search by police found nothing indicative of explosives and he had no known criminal history or previous encounters with police, the sheriff said.
The weapons found on the man were ghost weapons, which have no serial numbers and therefore cannot be traced.
His clothing featured patches and decals that suggested he was associated with law enforcement.
Some of the suspected explosives turned out to be counterfeit — including some that looked like hand grenades — but others were real, the sheriff said.
However, there was no evidence that explosives had been planted elsewhere in the park, he said.
Investigators assume that the man drove to the park via a service road.
The park is in a remote area and the local sheriff said he was extremely relieved that the planned attack did not take place
The park, which is surrounded by state land, is located on a mountain above the Colorado River in western Colorado.
Attractions include cave tours, an alpine roller coaster, and a cliff-edge swing ride that sends riders over the river gorge.
There were no employees or visitors on site when the man entered the park, according to a statement issued by Glenwood Caverns on Monday.
According to the park, Barajas Medina was found outside the restricted areas where attractions are located.
“This very sad and tragic incident reminds us of how much our Glenwood Springs community means to us,” said Nancy Heard, general manager of Glenwood Caverns.