It’s hard to know why the story has received such scant coverage by the mainstream media, though its conspicuous absence invites speculation. The details, provided by Denver Fox affiliate KDVR, include the fact that the shooter, 37-year-old Joshua Cummings, has been described by police as a “radical Muslim” and that the victim, 56-year-old Scott Von Lanken, may have been mistaken for a police officer. Von Lanken, who was a security guard for Denver’s Regional Transportation District, was dressed in his customary dark blue uniform when Cummings strode up behind him and shot him, fatally, in the neck.
The shooting took place on Feb. 1 as Von Lanken helped two women figure out which light rail route they should be using to get home. A surveillance. The women told authorities that the gunman muttered something before firing off a single round. Surveillance video caught the crime on tape, and Cummings was arrested about twenty minutes later. The murder weapon was also recovered.
“This is an incredibly sad day for us, and on behalf of the entire RTD family I extend my prayers and express my sincere condolences to the officer’s family, friends and loved ones,” RTD CEO Dave Genova said on Thursday.
“It’s really disheartening when anyone loses their life, but especially when we have someone out there providing safety to the community at large,” police chief Robert White added.
Sources say that investigators found jihadist materials in Cummings’s backpack.
Cross-posted at Constitution.com
