By Sara B. Hansen / NewsBreak Denver
(Lakewood, Colo.) Despite a gunshot wound to the abdomen that threw her to the ground, Lakewood Police Agent Ashley Ferris was able to fire the fatal shot that stopped a gunman’s rampage through Denver and Lakewood.
“I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent," said John Romero, Lakewood police information officer. "In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat."
Lyndon James Mcleod, 47, had already exchanged gunfire in two locations with Denver and Lakewood police before encountering Ferris near West Alaska Drive and South Vance Street in the Belmar shopping district.
Ferris ordered the shooter to drop his weapon. Instead, he shot her.
“All of us at the Lakewood Police Department are incredibly proud of Agent Ferris and the bravery shown by her and her fellow law enforcement officers,” Lakewood Police Chief Dan McCasky said.
“The entire Lakewood Police family will be here to support Agent Ferris and her family as she embarks on this recovery process.”
Ferris, a three-year veteran of the department, is recovering from her injuries at a Denver-area hospital.
During Mcleod’s rampage, he killed five and wounded two, including Ferris.
Although investigators have not released a motive for Mcleod’s actions, police said Mcleod knew his victims and, in one case, fatally shot a clerk at a hotel where he held a grudge.
The other victims all had connections to the shooter through tattooing.
Remembering the victims
Alicia Cardenas
Alicia Cardenas, 44, was killed at her business, Sol Tribe Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing, in Denver. Cardenas described herself as a “true Denver Native” in her biography on Sol Tribe Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing’s website. She also was a “proud Indigenous artist born and raised in the city who’s been working in the Denver body modification industry for nearly her entire life.”
A 12-year-old child survives her. A verified GoFundMe account has been established to help her family.
Alyssa Gunn Maldonado
Alyssa Gunn Maldonado, 35, worked as the jewelry manager at Sol Tribe and taught a weekly yoga class for employees. She was fatally shot Monday, and her husband, Jimmy Maldonado, a piercer at Sol Tribe, was critically injured. He remains hospitalized. A verified GoFundMe account has been established to help the Gunn and Moldonado family.
Michael Swinyard
Michael Swinyard, 67, died Monday after the shooter forced his way into Swinyard’s condo at One Cheesman Place. He built custom homes and remodeled others.
Danny “Dano” Scofield
Danny Scofield, 38, was fatally shot at Lucky 13 Tattoo in Lakewood. His younger sister April Potter told the Denver Post Scofield was supposed to be with family in Kansas Monday but had delayed his trip. “It broke both of our hearts. He told me it would be OK and that we would see each other soon,” Potter told the Post. “I didn’t know that would be the last time I spoke to him.” Two verified GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help pay for funeral costs and support his three children.
Sarah Steck
Sarah Steck, 28, was fatally shot Monday night while working as a front desk clerk at the Hyatt House hotel in Belmar.
Steck worked nights at the hotel while completing her degree in Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Communication Design Program. She graduated this spring and hoped to find work at a design studio or advertising agency, her advisor Peter Miles Bergman told the Denver Post.
A verified GoFundMe account will support Steck’s family.
McCasky, the Lakewood police chief, said, “Our hearts are incredibly heavy with the loss of life and injuries suffered by others during this rampage.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Cardenas, Gunn-Maldonado, Scofield, Steck and Sinyard families, as well as the families of those injured.
Want to help?
Donations to help support the victims, families and survivors can be made through the Colorado Healing Fund.
Lakewood also has opened a resource center to help anyone struggling to cope after the rampage. According to a news release, mental health therapists will staff the center and provide trauma resources. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon Friday at 7439 W. Alaska Drive in Belmar.
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