LONGMONT – A man on parole was shot by police after a standoff in a northern Colorado hotel Thursday after he allegedly detonated an explosive device in his room, authorities said.
Leon Gladwell, 40, was taken to the hospital after being shot at a Residence Inn in Longmont but his condition was not released, the Daily Camera reported. He was convicted of murdering his grandmother in 1998.
Police and state parole officers went there after learning Gladwell might be a danger to himself and had knives and propane tanks in his room. Police said he was angry and uncooperative when they arrived. Officers were able to confiscate his knives but he then went to his room and refused to cooperate, police said.
Police said officers left to get an arrest warrant, and several hours later, Gladwell set off an explosive device that “created a fireball in the room.” Officers tried to negotiate with him but, about an hour and a half after the explosion, he was shot by an officer after approaching a blown-out window with what was believed to be a propane tank, police said.
Gladwell refused to leave but at 11:45 p.m. police determined he was “incapacitated,” entered the room and arrested him.
