Investigators are still searching for answers after a ‘heavily armed’ man was found dead inside a Colorado theme park, surrounded by firearms and explosives.
The disturbing scene was found on Saturday morning at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, prompting law enforcement and bomb squads to converge on the park that is only accessible by gondola.
‘Given the amount of weaponry, ammunition, and explosive devices found, the suspect could have implemented an attack of devastating proportions upon our community and first responders,’ Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said.
The Garfield County Coroner’s Office later identified the man as Diego Barajas Medina, a 20-year-old from Carbondale, Colorado with no prior criminal history.
Medina was armed with an ‘arsenal’ of guns, as well as both fake and real explosives.
He was also wearing ‘black-colored tactical clothing, bearing patches and emblems that gave the appearance of being associated with law enforcement.’
An autopsy confirmed Medina died by a single gunshot wound to the head. Investigators currently believe Medina took his own life.
The terrifying discovery was made by a maintenance worker on Saturday morning. The Sheriff’s Office previously confirmed Medina entered the park after hours on Friday evening or early Saturday morning, avoiding detection by staff.
According to the maintenance worker’s 911 call, Medina was found surrounded by guns and alcohol inside the women’s bathroom at the Crystal Tower ride, which drops 110 feet inside the mountain’s cave system.
They also discovered a strange message scrawled on the bathroom wall, reading: ‘I am not a killer, I just wanted to get into the caves.’
Medina’s brother David told NBC News he was a ‘quiet person’ who didn’t speak much to his family and stayed up until the early morning hours playing video games.
‘He always wanted to be a police officer, so he had guns,’ David said. ‘I didn’t think he was a dangerous person.’
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