DENVER—A self-declared “emperor” who was shot to death by a state trooper outside the governor’s office had a loaded .357 handgun and was apparently suffering from a mental problem, authorities said Tuesday.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman said Aaron Snyder, 32, had been escorted out of Gov. Bill Ritter’s office on Monday when he pulled back his coat to reveal the handgun and moved toward a state trooper. He also said Snyder was also carrying a 6-inch hunting knife.
Snyder did not draw the gun but ignored two warnings that the trooper would fire if he did not stop, Whitman said.
Trooper Jay Hemphill, a 12-year veteran of the patrol, shot Snyder twice in the head and once in the chest, officials said.
“The trooper did exactly what he was trained to do to protect himself,” Whitman said.
Before he was shot, Snyder said, “I am the emperor and I’m here to take over state government,” officials said.
“It appears to be some type of mental problem,” Whitman said, but he did not elaborate. He said he did not know whether Snyder, who lived with his parents in suburban Thornton, was on medication or getting treatment.
Snyder’s mother told police before the shooting that the Colorado State University graduate had been diagnosed as “delusional” and was being treated by a psychiatrist.
Snyder had walked into the state Capitol at about 2 p.m. Monday and got into a confrontation with Ritter’s security detail, authorities said. Ritter was inside the office and heard the shots, but no one besides the gunman was hurt.
About three hours earlier, Snyder had gone to a suburban Northglenn shop with a gun and knife in his pockets, rented a tuxedo and told a woman it was “the day of the emperor’s reign,” Northglenn police said.
Also on Monday, Snyder told a co-worker in an e-mail that God made him “the emperor, the sovereign ruler of this nation,” said police in Fort Collins, where Snyder had been an intern for Advanced Energy.
“God has bestowed this honor on me. Today is the appointed day in which God has chosen for me to begin my reign,” the e-mail read.
Advanced Energy said Snyder worked there for two months. The company issued a statement offering sympathy to Snyder’s family but declining to give any specifics about Snyder or his work.
Police on Monday spent two hours searching the Snyders’ home and left with at least three cardboard boxes and up to 10 large paper bags.
Whitman said Snyder’s parents had retained and attorney and investigators had not yet spoken to them. But Northglenn police investigating the tuxedo rental talked to Snyder’s mother before the shooting.
She said Snyder, who has an engineering degree, had become upset a couple of days before over a “minor issue” but said she couldn’t recall what it was. She called Snyder’s cell phone at the officer’s request but it went straight to voice mail.
An alert about Snyder was put out along the Interstate 25 corridor 15 minutes before the shooting.
Whitman said Aaron Snyder’s car was found parked near the police station, six blocks from the Capitol. He said it had been impounded and would be searched.
Hemphill, 35, was on paid administrative leave while Denver police investigate whether the shooting was justified, officials said.
“He has a very stellar track record, never been in trouble. He’s performed at a high level,” Master Trooper Ron Watkins said.
Hemphill served as a driver for Frances Owens, the wife of former Gov. Bill Owens, for seven years, Watkins said. Hemphill was not being made available for interviews.
Troopers in the governor’s security detail receive extra training from the FBI, State Department and Secret Service in protecting dignitaries, detecting bombs and other areas, he said.
Snyder attended CSU off-and-on over a 14-year period through last fall but left soon after beginning work on a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
Neighbor Mary Annunziato said Snyder was kind and loving but “was not well”. She declined to elaborate.
“That person that went to the Capitol was not the person I knew and cared about,” she said.
Another neighbor, Doug Egge, recalled seeing Snyder walk up and down the street smoking cigarettes because his parents wouldn’t let him smoke inside. Sometimes he would smile, but “other times it was like he was in his own little world,” Egge said.
