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Inset: Ryan Egelston (Denver Police Department). Background: The area in Denver’s Washington Park where Ryan Egelston opened fire on two people (KUSA).
An accountant in Denver allegedly went on a midday shooting rampage — firing at two strangers with a pistol, one he allegedly shot in the neck and jaw — after getting into an argument with one of the victims over them sitting on the same park bench as him. According to police, the 28-year-old certified public accountant told detectives he believed the individuals “were somehow involved in a psy-ops.”
Ryan Egelston, a licensed CPA who touts himself online as a “certified joy enthusiast” and “small business owner” with a “deep passion to preach and teach the Word of God,” was arrested Sunday for attempted first-degree murder after allegedly targeting two people in Denver’s Washington Park. The victim who was shot was found in the 900 block of South Downing Street after Egelston randomly opened fire on him, the Denver Police Department reports. He survived, as did the other individual that Egelston allegedly shot at, who was the one that tried sitting next to him.
” (Egelston) was involved in a verbal altercation with the first victim when the victim asked if he could sit on the same bench as the defendant,” DPD officials reported in Ryan Egelston’s arrest affidavit, which was obtained by Law&Crime on Tuesday.
“During the altercation, the defendant was observed by several witnesses spitting on the victim, pushing the victim in the chest, and eventually punching the victim once in the lower back,” the affidavit says. “The victim then began to walk away while seated on his bicycle at which time the defendant was observed by witnesses producing a firearm and firing one round at the victim, placing the victim in fear for his life.”
Police say a “bullet defect” was later found in the rear tire of the victim’s bike. Witnesses reported seeing Egelston walking up to the second victim “approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute later” in the area of South Downing Street and East Kentucky Avenue before opening fire.
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“Witnesses stated that they observed the defendant produce his firearm again and fire a single shot at the second victim from behind, who was struck in the neck and jaw area, causing serious bodily injury,” the affidavit says. “At no point did the second victim and the defendant appear to have any sort of disagreement or altercation prior to the shooting.”
From there, Egelston allegedly walked over to his red Hyundai sedan and fled the scene. He was apprehended by cops following a “high-risk stop” and “PIT maneuver” that was deployed to immobilize his car.
Egelston claimed in interviews with police that he thought the people he attacked were part of a “psy-ops” mission aimed at him. The term is shorthand for psychological operations, which is something Egleston reportedly talked about at length once during an appearance on a Christian podcast.
“The mark of the beast is here, and it’s really AI,” Egelston told Robert Thibodeau, host of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast, in March 2024, according to local NBC affiliate KUSA, which obtained footage of his appearance and spoke to Thibodeau about it.
“His views were to the extreme, I guess you could say,” Thibodeau told KUSA. “But at the same time, they were his views, and I was asking questions.”
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According to Egelston and what he said on the podcast, the Denver accountant believes artificial intelligence is going to usher in the end times. He’s written and spoken about the subject publicly.
“AI can leverage psychological warfare upon you,” Egelston told Thibodeau during his appearance.
Police say that while questioning him, Egelston admitted to being put on a mental health hold in May 2024. It’s unclear what for.