Shooting at the Colorado Capitol



AP Photo

A man who entered the Colorado State Capitol with a gun claiming to be "the emporor" and announcing his intention to take over the state government, was shot and killed today. At the time, Governor Bill Ritter and his staff were working in their offices at the Capitol.

The good news is Governor Ritter and his staff were uninjured.

Now the questions:

Why aren't there metal detectors in the State Capitol?

Metal detectors were installed at the Capitol after the 9/11 attacks but lawmakers later had them removed.

Was it a necessary or excessive use of force to kill the gunman? Since he hadn't fired any shots and witnesses report hearing multiple shots, all of the shooting appears to have been done by one or more state troopers. One witness recounted hearing four shots.

I have to disagree with Gov. Ritter's spokesperson Evan Dreyer, who said:

"It’s a testament to the State Patrol that this incident ended quickly and that the governor and everyone else is safe."

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