Suspect shoots Confederate toy wagon in Bellvue street

A man dragged a wagon decorated with a Confederate flag into a private driveway and open fired last month, shocking residents in Bellvue, according to a Larimer County Sheriff's Office report.

The unidentified man fired several shots at the wagon after getting in an SUV and trying to run over the antique toy. Deputies investigated the June 27 incident to see if it was tied to three Northern Colorado shootings, but a suspect was never located, according to the report released Thursday — 24 days after the Coloradoan first requested the information.

The bizarre shooting happened near the intersection of Rist Canyon Road and North Larimer County Road 23. Ten days earlier, 21-year-old Dylann Roof opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine.

Many retailers across the country rid stores of Confederacy-themed items after the Charleston shooting sparked a national conversation about the legacy of the Confederacy.

Kathryn Wegryzn asked for $30 for the "antique Confederate flag painted wagon" similar in style to the General Lee vehicle in the Dukes of Hazzard, the report said.

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The man walked out of Wegryzn's thrift store on the morning of June 27 and came back a short time later with the $30.

He dragged the wagon into the driveway near 5024 Rist Canyon Road, placed it wheels up and got into a black SUV. After he unsuccessfully tried to run over the wagon, he exited the vehicle with a handgun. He walked over to the toy and shot at it at least nine times, causing those in the store and others at a nearby art sale to scatter.

The suspect — described as a white male in his 60s with short hair — left the scene before deputies arrived. On scene, a deputy observed what a appeared to be a tire spin mark on the gravel where incident happened and several shell casings and jacketed bullets.

The deputy notified the Sherriff's Office about the incident — in the event that there was a connection to the Northern Colorado shootings that has left two men dead, one woman injured.

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Cori Romero, 20 was shot in the neck April 22 while driving on Interstate 25 and Harmony Road. John Jacoby, 47, was found May 18 slain on a Windsor roadside, shot twice while riding his bicycle. And William Connole, 65, was shot and killed while walking in Loveland on June 3.

The first two incidents have been linked but an investigation task force isn't revealing how. Investigators have not yet said whether Connole's death is definitively tied to the other two.

It's unclear whether the June 27 wagon case is still being investigated in connection with the Northern Colorado shooting probe. The case status was "in suspense," according to the report.

Latent fingerprints, the wagon and nine brass shell casings were collected as evidence. The ammunition appears to be tied to a nine millimeter handgun.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the shooting and the reason a wagon with a Confederate flag painted on it was sold for $30 vs $19. Kathryn Wegrzyn told Larimer County Sheriff’s deputies the wagon was “worth more,” due to its quality. The report inaccurately identified Wegrzyn as the owner of the Bellvue Store.