Colorado Gunman Who Killed Cop Livestreamed Shoot-Out, Had Record of Suspicious and Harassing Behavior

A Colorado man who shot and killed a deputy sheriff on New Yearโ€™s Eve spent hours leading up to the shoot-out taping himself and posting to social media. But it didnโ€™t stop thereโ€”before police killed him, Matthew Riehl also livestreamed the deadly gun battle, CBS News reports. Suggested Reading Three Friends Were Headed To A…

A Colorado man who shot and killed a deputy sheriff on New Yearโ€™s Eve spent hours leading up to the shoot-out taping himself and posting to social media. But it didnโ€™t stop thereโ€”before police killed him, Matthew Riehl also livestreamed the deadly gun battle, CBS News reports.

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Riehl, a 37-year-old Iraq War veteran, also had a history of suspicious and harassing behavior, including targeting a Douglas County, Colo., police officer in the weeks prior to the ambush, according to CNN.

On Sunday, Riehl called 911 to report problems with another man whom Riehl called his โ€œdomestic partner.โ€ But when deputies arrived at Riehlโ€™s apartment in Highlands Ranch, Colo., he had barricaded himself in. CBS Denver, which reviewed the footage, reports that Douglas County deputies initially tried to coax Riehl into opening the door; Riehl told the officers that he was assaulted before telling the cops to โ€œgo awayโ€ and saying that he wanted the โ€œcivil division.โ€

Four sheriffโ€™s deputies returned to Riehlโ€™s apartment later, when Riehl asked one of the officers, โ€œWhatโ€™s your name?โ€ before immediately opening fire on the officers. Itโ€™s unclear when a SWAT team became involved in the shooting, during which Riehl unloaded 100 rounds and killed one person, Sheriffโ€™s Deputy Zackari Parrish, and injured four others.

According to the New York Daily News, which cites KDVR-TV and KUSA-TV, Riehl captured everything on Periscope. The shoot-out was so intense, it triggered a smoke alarm. Riehl died in the gunfight.

But as CNN reports, officials say that Riehl was no stranger to several law enforcement agencies.

Following a November traffic stop in a Denver suburb, Riehl wrote harassing posts and emails targeting local police officers. Riehlโ€™s alma mater, the University of Wyoming, also issued a warning late last year alerting the campus to Riehlโ€™s behavior.

Citing a letter sent to faculty and staff in November, CNN reports that campus police and the Laramie Police Department were alerted to Riehlโ€™s โ€œrambling, nonsensical messages on his Facebook page.โ€ University of Wyoming faculty was also asked to get in contact with police if Riehl was seen on campus.

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