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US man dead after dozer rampage

An Xcel Energy truck lies smashed after a shop owner reportedly angry about a zoning issue went on a bulldozer rampage in Granby, Colorado, Friday. PHOTO: AP

A muffler shop owner who plowed his makeshift armored bulldozer into several buildings after a dispute with city officials was found dead in the machine after a SWAT team gained access to the vehicle with explosives yesterday, authorities said.

The driver was identified by the town manager as muffler shop owner Marvin Heemeyer. A statement from Grand County Undersheriff Glen Trainor early Saturday said the driver was found dead around 2am local time. The statement did not give a cause of death.

He was armed with a .50-caliber weapon but appeared to be deliberately avoiding injuring anyone during the rampage, which began Friday afternoon. No other injuries were reported. Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holaham said.

Heemeyer, who lost two bitter battles with town officials over zoning issues, plowed the armor-plated bulldozer into the town hall, a former mayor's home and at least five other buildings before the machine ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse.

City officials said he was angry over a zoning dispute and fines stemming from city code violations at his business.

Authorities detonated three explosions and fired at least 200 rounds against the heavy steel plates welded to the bulldozer. The first two detonations failed; the results of the third were not immediately known.

Trainor said the dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of 1cm steel with a layer of concrete between them.

Residents of this mountain tourist town of 2,200, about 80km west of Denver, described a bizarre scene as the bulldozer slowly crashed through buildings, trees and lamp posts, with dozens of officers walking ahead or behind it, firing into the machine and shouting at townspeople to flee.

``It looked like a futuristic tank,'' said Rod Moore, who watched the dozer rumble past within a few meters of his auto garage and towing company.

Trainor was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe.

"He just kept shooting," Moore said. "The dozer was still going. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust."

A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect.

"Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office. "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second."

Town manager Tom Hale said Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute that allowed a cement plant to be built near his muffler shop. Heemeyer also was fined US$2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and for other city code violations at his business, Hale said.
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