Denver gunman who killed 5 wrote violent books that foretold mass shooting

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The suspect in a deadly Denver-area shooting rampage this week previously wrote violent books that eerily described the attacks and some of the victims in his works of fiction turned out to be real-life victims.

Authorities said Lyndon James McLeod shot and killed five people in Denver and suburban Lakewood before police killed him in a shootout late Monday. They also said he had a previous connection with many of his victims.

Officials said he wrote under the pseudonym Roman McClay in a series of self-published books in which the main character, named after McLeod, goes on a shooting spree and kills people at a tattoo parlor.

In one of the books, his McLeod character kills 46 people in one night. After he was convicted and imprisoned, he is cloned to work as a government assassin.

Two of the victims in his fictional shooting spree were named Michael Swinyard and Alicia Cardenas. In Monday's shootings, the real-life Swinyard, 67, and Cardenas, 44, were among McLeod's five victims.

The book also included characters identified by the first names "Sarah" and "Danny." Also among the real-life victims were Danny Schofield, 38, and hotel clerk Sarah Steck, 28.

Lakewood Police officer Ashley Ferris, who was injured in the shootout Monday, was the one who shot gunman Lyndon James McLeod dead after he'd killed several people. Photo courtesy Lakewood Police Department

The book also names two other people at a Denver tattoo parlor where the real shooting took place, but they were not killed. Four of the five victims died at the scene.

Lakewood Police have also identified the injured police officer who shot and killed McLeod as Ashley Ferris. She remains hospitalized after surgery.

Authorities said Ferris ordered McLeod to drop his weapon when he opened fire on her, striking the officer in the abdomen. She returned fire and killed him.

"Agent Ferris, shot and wounded on the ground, was able to return fire on the suspect," the Lakewood Police Department said, according to KDVR-TV.

"The suspect was shot by Agent Ferris and died on the scene. If not for the heroic efforts of agent Ferris and other law enforcement, this incredibly violent tragedy could have been even worse."

A fund has been set up to aid the surviving victims and families of the victim.