Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Infobox person
|image = Marvin Heemeyer.jpg
|image_size = 200px
|caption = Marvin John Heemeyer
|birth_name=Marvin John Heemeyer
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|10|28}}
|birth_place = [[South Dakota]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|06|04|1951|10|28}}
|death_place = [[Granby, Colorado]], United States
|death_cause = Suicide by [[gunshot]]
|known_for = "Killdozer" rampage
|occupation = [[Welder]], [[automobile]] [[muffler]] repair shop owner
}}
'''Marvin John Heemeyer''' (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American [[welder]] and an [[automobile]] [[muffler]] repair shop owner who went on a rampage with a modified bulldozer. Outraged over zoning disputes, he armored a [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A [[bulldozer]] with layers of steel and concrete and used it on June 4, 2004 to demolish the town hall, the former mayor's house, and other buildings in [[Granby, Colorado]]. The rampage ended when the bulldozer became stuck in the basement of a Gambles store he was in the process of destroying. Heemeyer then committed suicide.
Heemeyer had been feuding with Granby officials, particularly over fines for violating city ordinances and a zoning dispute regarding a concrete batch plant constructed opposite his muffler shop.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5139598/ |title=Man who bulldozed through Colo. town is dead |publisher=[[Msnbc.com]] |date=June 5, 2004 |accessdate=August 31, 2006|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065604/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5139598/|archivedate=October 23, 2013}}</ref>
==Background==
Heemeyer lived in [[Grand Lake, Colorado]], about {{convert|16|mi|km}} away from Granby.<ref name="cozine">{{cite web |url=http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01250121.html |title=The Dark Side of Paradise |first=Allen |last=Best |work=Colorado Central Magazine |date=July 2004 |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311112300/http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01250121.html |archivedate = March 11, 2007}}</ref> According to a neighbor, Heemeyer moved to town more than 10 years before the incident. Heemeyer's friends stated that he had no relatives in the Granby–Grand Lake area.<ref name="UMDstudents">{{cite web |url=http://www.umdstudents.com/viewtopic.php?t=6125 |title=Armed man goes on bulldozer rampage |publisher=UMDstudents.com |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220134042/http://umdstudents.com/viewtopic.php?t=6125 |archivedate = February 20, 2007}}</ref>
John Bauldree, a friend of Heemeyer, said that Heemeyer was a likable person. Ken Heemeyer said his brother "would bend over backwards for anyone". While many people described Heemeyer as an affable person, local resident Christie Baker claimed that her husband was threatened by Heemeyer after refusing to pay for a disputed muffler repair.<ref name="Baker">{{cite news |title='Something snapped': Suspect called emotional, angry over rezoning fight |last=Ingold |first=John |author2=Brittany Anas |author3=Howard Pankratz |date=June 6, 2004 |work=[[The Denver Post]] |pages=A01 |quote='He has threatened my husband's life,' resident Christie Baker recalled. 'He threatened my husband over a muffler.' Baker said she and her husband, Doug, had taken a truck to Heemeyer's shop, and he installed the wrong type of muffler on it. They refused to pay, and Christie Baker said they soon heard through word of mouth about Heemeyer's threat. They paid the $124 in cash, using an intermediary to give Heemeyer the money, she said.}}</ref> Baker said her husband later paid Heemeyer $124 via an [[intermediary]].<ref name="Baker"/>
==Zoning dispute==
In 1992, Heemeyer purchased {{convert|2|acre|ha|sigfig=1}} of land from the [[Resolution Trust Corporation]], the federal agency organized to handle the assets of failed savings and loan institutions. He purchased the land for $42,000 to build a muffler shop and subsequently agreed to sell the land to Cody Docheff to build a concrete batch plant, [[Mountain Park Concrete]]. The agreed price was $250,000. According to Susan Docheff, Heemeyer changed his mind and increased the price to $375,000, and later demanded a deal worth approximately $1 million. Some believed that this negotiation happened before the rezoning proposal was heard by the town council.<ref name="Durango"/>
In 2001, the zoning commission and the town's trustees approved the construction of a concrete batch plant. Heemeyer attempted to appeal the decision but was unsuccessful. It is claimed that the construction blocked access to the shop, but this is incorrect: the access route remained despite the construction<ref>https://killdozerbook.com/2018/07/fake-news/</ref>. Heemeyer was subsequently fined $2,500 by the Granby town council for various violations, including "junk cars on the property and not being hooked up to the sewer line" (he had apparently tried to cross 8ft of the concrete factory land to hook up to the sewer line). He was discovered to be dumping the waste from his improvised tank directly into an irrigation ditch, resulting in the fine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3390654/detail.html |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |title=Granby Rampage Damage Expected To Exceed several Million |date=June 7, 2004 |accessdate=September 7, 2006 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115225652/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3390654/detail.html |archivedate=January 15, 2007 |df= }}</ref>
==Bulldozer modification==
[[File:Killdozer.jpg|thumb|250px|Heemeyer used this armor-plated [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A bulldozer to destroy 13 buildings in [[Granby, Colorado]].]]
Heemeyer leased his business to a trash company and sold the property several months before the rampage. The bulldozer is believed by some{{Who|date=January 2019}} to have been bought in order to construct a new access road.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
Notes found by investigators after the incident indicated that the primary motivation for the bulldozer rampage was his plan to stop a concrete plant from being built near his shop. These notes indicated that he held grudges over the zoning approval. "I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable", he wrote. "Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things."<ref name="SmR">{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=9810 |title=Rampager was surprised his plans went unnoticed |work=[[The Spokesman Review]] |date=June 10, 2004 |accessdate=June 6, 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311015838/http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=9810 |archivedate=March 11, 2007 |df= }}</ref>
Heemeyer took about a year and a half to prepare; in his notes he wrote: "It is interesting to observe that I was never caught. This was a part-time project over a {{frac|1|1|2}} year time period." Clearly he was surprised that several men, who had visited the shed late the previous year, had not noticed the modified bulldozer "...especially with the 2000-pound [900kg] lift fully exposed... Somehow their vision was clouded."<ref name="SmR" />
The bulldozer was a modified [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A,<ref name="denverchannel" /> fitted with makeshift armor plating covering the cabin, [[engine]], and parts of the [[caterpillar track|tracks]]. In places, this armor was over {{convert|1|ft|cm}} thick, consisting of 5000-PSI Quikrete [[concrete]] mix sandwiched between sheets of [[tool steel]] (acquired from an automotive dealer in Denver), to make ad-hoc [[composite armor]]. This made the machine impervious to [[small arms]] fire and resistant to [[explosive]]s. Three external explosions and more than 200 rounds of [[ammunition]] fired at the bulldozer had no effect on it.<ref name="msnbc" />
For visibility, the bulldozer was fitted with several [[video camera]]s linked to two [[computer display|monitors]] mounted on the vehicle's dashboard. The cameras were protected on the outside by {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on}} shields of bulletproof plastic.<ref name="msnbc" /> Compressed-air nozzles were fitted to blow dust away from the video cameras. Onboard fans and an air conditioner were used to keep Heemeyer cool while driving. He had made three gun-ports, fitted for a .50 caliber rifle, a .308 semi-automatic rifle, and a .22LR rifle, all fitted with a {{convert|1/2|in|cm|adj=mid|spell=in|-thick}} steel plate. Heemeyer apparently had no intention of leaving the cabin once he entered it.<ref name="msnbc" /> Authorities speculated that he may have used a homemade crane – found in his garage – to lower the armor hull over the dozer and himself. "Once he tipped that lid shut, he knew he wasn't getting out," Daly said. Investigators searched the garage where they believed that Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement and armor steel.<ref name="msnbc" />
Only Heemeyer died in the event (by a self-inflicted gunshot wound). However, the modified bulldozer came to be known as "Killdozer" after the name of [[Killdozer! (short story)|a short story]] by [[Theodore Sturgeon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Episodes&content_type_id=56913&display_order=2&mini_id=56902 |publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]] |title=Shockwave Episode 08 |date=February 1, 2008|accessdate= February 1, 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080326153105/http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Episodes&content_type_id=56913&display_order=2&mini_id=56902 |archivedate = March 26, 2008}}</ref>
==Rampage==
On June 4, 2004, Heemeyer drove his armored bulldozer through the wall of his former business, the concrete plant, the Town Hall, the office of the local newspaper that editorialized against him, the home of a former mayor (in which his widow then exclusively resided), and a hardware store owned by another man Heemeyer named in a lawsuit, as well as a few others. Owners of all of the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes.<ref name="boston">{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/10/24/after_bulldozer_rampage_town_strives_to_rebuild_trust/ |title=After bulldozer rampage, town strives to rebuild trust |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |first=Julie |last=Poppen |date=2004-10-24|accessdate=2006-08-31}}</ref>
The attack lasted for two hours and seven minutes, damaging 13 buildings,<ref name="denverchannel">{{cite web | title= Crews Begin Dismantling Granby Bulldozer |url= http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4393800/detail.html | accessdate= June 27, 2006 | publisher= [[KMGH-TV]] | date= April 15, 2005}}</ref> knocking out natural gas service to City Hall and the concrete plant, damaging a truck, and destroying part of a utility service center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews5/rampages.htm |title=Rampages – Tanks, Bulldozers, Whatever You Got! |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017175241/http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews5/rampages.htm |archivedate=2006-10-17 |df= }}</ref> Despite the great damage to property, no one besides Heemeyer was killed.<ref name="msnbc" /> The damage was estimated at $7 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jason|first=Bellows|title=The Wrath of the Killdozer|url=http://www.damninteresting.com/the-wrath-of-the-killdozer/|work=DamnInteresting.com|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="skyhigh">{{cite web |title=Granby: 2004 bulldozer rampage subject of History Channel program |url=http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080106/NEWS/259348922 |work=Sky-Hi Daily News |first=Tonya |last=Bina |accessdate=May 18, 2008}}</ref> According to Grand County commissioner James Newberry, Grand County emergency dispatchers used the [[reverse 911]] emergency system to notify many residents and property owners of the rampage going on in the town.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grudge spawns trail of destruction: Granby man kills himself after rampage in armor-plated bulldozer|work=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]]|location=Colorado Springs|date=June 6, 2004 |first=Deedee|last=Correll|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2755691.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
Defenders of Heemeyer contended that he made a point of not hurting anybody during his bulldozer rampage;<ref name="msnbc" /> Ian Daugherty, a bakery owner, said Heemeyer "went out of his way" not to harm anyone. Others offered different views. The sheriff's department argued the fact that no one was injured was not due to good intent as much as it must have been due to luck. Heemeyer had installed two rifles in firing ports on the inside of the bulldozer,<ref name="denverpost">{{cite web| title= Interior of Bulldozer |work=[[The Denver Post]]|url= http://extras.denverpost.com/slideshows/dozer_slideshow.html | accessdate= September 26, 2007}}</ref> and fired 15 bullets from his rifle at power transformers and propane tanks. "Had these tanks ruptured and exploded, anyone within one-half mile (800 m) of the explosion could have been endangered," the sheriff's department said; within such a range were 12 police officers and residents of a senior citizens complex.<ref name="Durango"/> The sheriff's department also asserted Heemeyer fired many bullets from his semi-automatic rifle at Cody Docheff when Docheff tried to stop the assault on his concrete batch plant by using a [[wheel tractor-scraper]], which was pushed aside by Heemeyer's bulldozer. Later, Heemeyer fired on two state patrol officers before they had fired at him.<ref name="Durango"/> The sheriff's department also noted that 11 of the 13 buildings Heemeyer bulldozed were occupied until moments before their destruction. At the town library, for example, a children's program was in progress when the incident began.<ref name="cozine"/><ref name="Durango">{{cite web|url=http://archives.durangotelegraph.com/04-06-24/mountain_exchange.htm|title=Dozer rampage roots run deep|accessdate=March 7, 2008 |work=[[Durango Telegraph]] |date=June 24, 2004}}</ref>
One officer dropped a [[Stun grenade|flash-bang grenade]] down the bulldozer's exhaust pipe, with no apparent effect. Local and state patrol, including a SWAT team, walked behind and beside the bulldozer, occasionally firing, but the armored bulldozer was impervious to their shots. Attempts to disable the bulldozer's cameras with gunfire failed as the bullets were unable to penetrate the 3-inch (7.6 cm) bulletproof plastic. At one point, [[Undersheriff]] Glenn Trainor climbed atop the bulldozer and rode it "like a bronc-buster, trying to figure out a way to get a bullet inside the dragon".<ref name="cozine"/> However, he was forced to jump off to avoid being hit with debris.<ref name="cozine"/>
At this point, local authorities and the Colorado State Patrol feared they were running out of options in terms of firepower, and that Heemeyer would soon turn against civilians in Granby. Then-governor [[Bill Owens (Colorado politician)|Bill Owens]] allegedly considered authorizing the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] to use either an [[AH-64 Apache|Apache]] attack helicopter equipped with a [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire]] missile or a two-man fire team equipped with a [[FGM-148 Javelin|Javelin]] anti tank missile to destroy the bulldozer, only to deem the option unnecessary due to Heemeyer getting stuck in the Gambles hardware store. As late as 2011, Governor Owens' staff still vehemently denied considering such a course of action, but since then members of the State Patrol revealed that, to the contrary, the governor did consider authorizing an attack but ultimately decided against it due to the potential for collateral damage of a missile strike in the heart of Granby being significantly higher than what Heemeyer could have caused with his bulldozer.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Franscell|first1=Ron|title=The Crime Buff's Guide to the Outlaw Rocky Mountains|date=2011-04-05|publisher=Morris Book Publishing LLC|location=Guilford, Connecticut |pages=107–108 }}</ref>
Two problems arose as Heemeyer destroyed the Gambles hardware store. The radiator of the dozer had been damaged and the engine was leaking various fluids, and Gambles had a small basement. The bulldozer's engine failed, and Heemeyer dropped one tread into the basement, but could not get out. About a minute later, one of the SWAT team members, who had swarmed around the machine, reported hearing a single gunshot from inside the sealed cab. It was later determined that Heemeyer had shot himself in the head with a .357-caliber handgun.<ref name="msnbc" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Armored dozer was bad to go: Reporters get peek inside Heemeyer's destructive machine|work=[[Rocky Mountain News]]|location=Denver|date=June 25, 2004. He ended his rampage leaving few buildings out of his reign of terror. Granby Letter Saver inc., the Granby Beauty Salon, Luksa Family Restaurant, and places past the 4th intersection. |last=Aguilar|first=John|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120544009.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
Police first used explosives in an attempt to remove the steel plates, but after the third explosion failed, they cut through them with an [[Oxy-fuel welding and cutting|oxyacetylene cutting torch]]. Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holahan stated that authorities were able to access and remove Heemeyer's body at 2:00{{nbsp}}a.m. on June 5.<ref>{{cite news|title=Officials: Man who drove bulldozer is dead|work=[[The Oakland Tribune]]|location=San Jose|date=June 6, 2004 |first=P.Solomon|last=Banda|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-6987857.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
===Fate of the bulldozer===
On April 19, 2005, the town announced plans to [[Scrap|scrap]] Heemeyer's bulldozer. The plan involved dispersing individual pieces to many separate scrap yards to prevent souvenir-taking.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dozer digs its own grave: Used by angry resident to attack Granby, machine to be dismantled as scrap|work=[[Rocky Mountain News]]|location=Denver|date=March 1, 2005|last=Crecente|first=Brian D.|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-129458602.html|accessdate=January 17, 2016|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes}}</ref>
==Motivation==
In addition to writings that he left on the wall of his shed, Heemeyer recorded a number of audio tapes explaining his motivation for the attack. He mailed these to his brother in South Dakota shortly before stepping into his bulldozer. Heemeyer's brother turned the tapes over to the FBI, who in turn sent them to the Grand County Sheriff's Department. The tapes were released by the Grand County Sheriff's Office on August 31, 2004. The tapes are about 2.5 hours in length.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=49366 |title=Newly released audiotapes detail reasons for Granby bulldozer rampage |first=Paula |last=Woodward |publisher=[[KUSA-TV]]|accessdate=June 6, 2009}}</ref>
The first recording was made on April 13, 2004. The last recording was made 13 days before the rampage.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
"God built me for this job," Heemeyer said in the first recording. He also said it was God's plan that he not be married or have a family so that he could be in a position to carry out such an attack. "I think God will bless me to get the machine done, to drive it, to do the stuff that I have to do," he said. "God blessed me in advance for the task that I am about to undertake. It is my duty. God has asked me to do this. It's a cross that I am going to carry and I'm carrying it in God's name."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3697785/detail.html |title=Man Who Bulldozed Granby Says He Got Idea From God |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |accessdate=April 8, 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413145608/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3697785/detail.html |archivedate=April 13, 2008 |df= }}</ref>
Investigators later found Heemeyer's handwritten list of targets. According to the police, it included the buildings he destroyed, the local Catholic church (which he didn't damage), and the names of various people who had sided against him in past disputes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3394824/detail.html |title=7NEWS Looks Inside Granby Work Shed Where 'Dozer Was Outfitted |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222044045/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3394824/detail.html |archivedate=2008-02-22 |df= }}</ref>
==See also==
* ''[[Leviathan (2014 film)|Leviathan]]'' – film inspired by the story of Heemeyer
* [[Shawn Nelson (San Diego Tank Rampage)|Shawn Nelson]] – perpetrator of a similar vehicle rampage in [[San Diego]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|journal=The Concrete Producer |date=November 1, 2005 |title=Terror in Granby |first=Tom |last=Bagsarian |publisher=[[Hanley Wood]] |location=Rosemont, IL |url=http://www.theconcreteproducer.com/Images/Terror%20in%20Granby_tcm77-1308172.pdf |accessdate=January 17, 2016 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414094159/http://www.theconcreteproducer.com/Images/Terror%20in%20Granby_tcm77-1308172.pdf |archivedate=April 14, 2016 |df= }}
==External links==
* [http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/destroyed-in-seconds-bulldozer-rampage.html Discovery Channel – Destroyed in Seconds video]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Washington Post Article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060526094629/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3383547/detail.html Denver Channel Article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html CBS4: Bulldozer Rampage Revisited]
* {{YouTube|PZbG9i1oGPA|News Coverage}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html |title=Site detailing Marvin Heemeyer's dispute with City Hall |accessdate=2005-09-20 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html |archivedate=2004-10-12 |df= }}
* [http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Granby/Granby.htm Granby Damage, includes several pictures of the incident]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.angelfire.com/co4/anw_dal_hub/rmpg.html |title=Rampage In Granby |date=June 6, 2004 |publisher=The Denver Post}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heemeyer, Marvin}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in Colorado]]
[[Category:American criminals]]
[[Category:2004 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Grand County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Improvised armoured fighting vehicles]]
[[Category:Criminals who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Attacks in the United States in 2004]]
[[Category:Vehicular rampage in the United States]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Infobox person
|image = Marvin Heemeyer.jpg
|image_size = 200px
|caption = Marvin John Heemeyer
|birth_name=Marvin John Heemeyer
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|10|28}}
|birth_place = [[South Dakota]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|06|04|1951|10|28}}
|death_place = [[Granby, Colorado]], United States
|death_cause = Suicide by [[gunshot]]
|known_for = "Killdozer" rampage
|occupation = [[Welder]], [[automobile]] [[muffler]] repair shop owner
}}
'''Marvin John Heemeyer''' (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American [[welder]] and an [[automobile]] [[muffler]] repair shop owner who went on a rampage with a modified bulldozer. Outraged over zoning disputes, he armored a [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A [[bulldozer]] with layers of steel and concrete and used it on June 4, 2004 to demolish the town hall, the former mayor's house, and other buildings in [[Granby, Colorado]]. The rampage ended when the bulldozer became stuck in the basement of a Gambles store he was in the process of destroying. Heemeyer then committed suicide.
Heemeyer had been feuding with Granby officials, particularly over fines for violating city ordinances and a zoning dispute regarding a concrete batch plant constructed opposite his muffler shop.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5139598/ |title=Man who bulldozed through Colo. town is dead |publisher=[[Msnbc.com]] |date=June 5, 2004 |accessdate=August 31, 2006|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065604/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5139598/|archivedate=October 23, 2013}}</ref>
==Background==
Heemeyer lived in [[Grand Lake, Colorado]], about {{convert|16|mi|km}} away from Granby.<ref name="cozine">{{cite web |url=http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01250121.html |title=The Dark Side of Paradise |first=Allen |last=Best |work=Colorado Central Magazine |date=July 2004 |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311112300/http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01250121.html |archivedate = March 11, 2007}}</ref> According to a neighbor, Heemeyer moved to town more than 10 years before the incident. Heemeyer's friends stated that he had no relatives in the Granby–Grand Lake area.<ref name="UMDstudents">{{cite web |url=http://www.umdstudents.com/viewtopic.php?t=6125 |title=Armed man goes on bulldozer rampage |publisher=UMDstudents.com |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220134042/http://umdstudents.com/viewtopic.php?t=6125 |archivedate = February 20, 2007}}</ref>
John Bauldree, a friend of Heemeyer, said that Heemeyer was a likable person. Ken Heemeyer said his brother "would bend over backwards for anyone". While many people described Heemeyer as an affable person, local resident Christie Baker claimed that her husband was threatened by Heemeyer after refusing to pay for a disputed muffler repair.<ref name="Baker">{{cite news |title='Something snapped': Suspect called emotional, angry over rezoning fight |last=Ingold |first=John |author2=Brittany Anas |author3=Howard Pankratz |date=June 6, 2004 |work=[[The Denver Post]] |pages=A01 |quote='He has threatened my husband's life,' resident Christie Baker recalled. 'He threatened my husband over a muffler.' Baker said she and her husband, Doug, had taken a truck to Heemeyer's shop, and he installed the wrong type of muffler on it. They refused to pay, and Christie Baker said they soon heard through word of mouth about Heemeyer's threat. They paid the $124 in cash, using an intermediary to give Heemeyer the money, she said.}}</ref> Baker said her husband later paid Heemeyer $124 via an [[intermediary]].<ref name="Baker"/>
==Zoning dispute==
In 1992, Heemeyer purchased {{convert|2|acre|ha|sigfig=1}} of land from the [[Resolution Trust Corporation]], the federal agency organized to handle the assets of failed savings and loan institutions. He purchased the land for $42,000 to build a muffler shop and subsequently agreed to sell the land to Cody Docheff to build a concrete batch plant, [[Mountain Park Concrete]]. The agreed price was $250,000. According to Susan Docheff, Heemeyer changed his mind and increased the price to $375,000, and later demanded a deal worth approximately $1 million. Some believed that this negotiation happened before the rezoning proposal was heard by the town council.<ref name="Durango"/>
In 2001, the zoning commission and the town's trustees approved the construction of a concrete batch plant. Heemeyer attempted to appeal the decision but was unsuccessful. It is claimed that the construction blocked access to the shop. Heemeyer was subsequently fined $2,500 by the Granby town council for various violations, including "junk cars on the property and not being hooked up to the sewer line" (he had apparently tried to cross 8ft of the concrete factory land to hook up to the sewer line). He was discovered to be dumping the waste from his improvised tank directly into an irrigation ditch, resulting in the fine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3390654/detail.html |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |title=Granby Rampage Damage Expected To Exceed several Million |date=June 7, 2004 |accessdate=September 7, 2006 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115225652/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3390654/detail.html |archivedate=January 15, 2007 |df= }}</ref>
==Bulldozer modification==
[[File:Killdozer.jpg|thumb|250px|Heemeyer used this armor-plated [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A bulldozer to destroy 13 buildings in [[Granby, Colorado]].]]
Heemeyer leased his business to a trash company and sold the property several months before the rampage. The bulldozer is believed by some{{Who|date=January 2019}} to have been bought in order to construct a new access road.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
Notes found by investigators after the incident indicated that the primary motivation for the bulldozer rampage was his plan to stop a concrete plant from being built near his shop. These notes indicated that he held grudges over the zoning approval. "I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable", he wrote. "Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things."<ref name="SmR">{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=9810 |title=Rampager was surprised his plans went unnoticed |work=[[The Spokesman Review]] |date=June 10, 2004 |accessdate=June 6, 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311015838/http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=9810 |archivedate=March 11, 2007 |df= }}</ref>
Heemeyer took about a year and a half to prepare; in his notes he wrote: "It is interesting to observe that I was never caught. This was a part-time project over a {{frac|1|1|2}} year time period." Clearly he was surprised that several men, who had visited the shed late the previous year, had not noticed the modified bulldozer "...especially with the 2000-pound [900kg] lift fully exposed... Somehow their vision was clouded."<ref name="SmR" />
The bulldozer was a modified [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] D355A,<ref name="denverchannel" /> fitted with makeshift armor plating covering the cabin, [[engine]], and parts of the [[caterpillar track|tracks]]. In places, this armor was over {{convert|1|ft|cm}} thick, consisting of 5000-PSI Quikrete [[concrete]] mix sandwiched between sheets of [[tool steel]] (acquired from an automotive dealer in Denver), to make ad-hoc [[composite armor]]. This made the machine impervious to [[small arms]] fire and resistant to [[explosive]]s. Three external explosions and more than 200 rounds of [[ammunition]] fired at the bulldozer had no effect on it.<ref name="msnbc" />
For visibility, the bulldozer was fitted with several [[video camera]]s linked to two [[computer display|monitors]] mounted on the vehicle's dashboard. The cameras were protected on the outside by {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on}} shields of bulletproof plastic.<ref name="msnbc" /> Compressed-air nozzles were fitted to blow dust away from the video cameras. Onboard fans and an air conditioner were used to keep Heemeyer cool while driving. He had made three gun-ports, fitted for a .50 caliber rifle, a .308 semi-automatic rifle, and a .22LR rifle, all fitted with a {{convert|1/2|in|cm|adj=mid|spell=in|-thick}} steel plate. Heemeyer apparently had no intention of leaving the cabin once he entered it.<ref name="msnbc" /> Authorities speculated that he may have used a homemade crane – found in his garage – to lower the armor hull over the dozer and himself. "Once he tipped that lid shut, he knew he wasn't getting out," Daly said. Investigators searched the garage where they believed that Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement and armor steel.<ref name="msnbc" />
Only Heemeyer died in the event (by a self-inflicted gunshot wound). However, the modified bulldozer came to be known as "Killdozer" after the name of [[Killdozer! (short story)|a short story]] by [[Theodore Sturgeon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Episodes&content_type_id=56913&display_order=2&mini_id=56902 |publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]] |title=Shockwave Episode 08 |date=February 1, 2008|accessdate= February 1, 2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080326153105/http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Episodes&content_type_id=56913&display_order=2&mini_id=56902 |archivedate = March 26, 2008}}</ref>
==Rampage==
On June 4, 2004, Heemeyer drove his armored bulldozer through the wall of his former business, the concrete plant, the Town Hall, the office of the local newspaper that editorialized against him, the home of a former mayor (in which his widow then exclusively resided), and a hardware store owned by another man Heemeyer named in a lawsuit, as well as a few others. Owners of all of the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes.<ref name="boston">{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/10/24/after_bulldozer_rampage_town_strives_to_rebuild_trust/ |title=After bulldozer rampage, town strives to rebuild trust |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |first=Julie |last=Poppen |date=2004-10-24|accessdate=2006-08-31}}</ref>
The attack lasted for two hours and seven minutes, damaging 13 buildings,<ref name="denverchannel">{{cite web | title= Crews Begin Dismantling Granby Bulldozer |url= http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4393800/detail.html | accessdate= June 27, 2006 | publisher= [[KMGH-TV]] | date= April 15, 2005}}</ref> knocking out natural gas service to City Hall and the concrete plant, damaging a truck, and destroying part of a utility service center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews5/rampages.htm |title=Rampages – Tanks, Bulldozers, Whatever You Got! |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017175241/http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews5/rampages.htm |archivedate=2006-10-17 |df= }}</ref> Despite the great damage to property, no one besides Heemeyer was killed.<ref name="msnbc" /> The damage was estimated at $7 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jason|first=Bellows|title=The Wrath of the Killdozer|url=http://www.damninteresting.com/the-wrath-of-the-killdozer/|work=DamnInteresting.com|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="skyhigh">{{cite web |title=Granby: 2004 bulldozer rampage subject of History Channel program |url=http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080106/NEWS/259348922 |work=Sky-Hi Daily News |first=Tonya |last=Bina |accessdate=May 18, 2008}}</ref> According to Grand County commissioner James Newberry, Grand County emergency dispatchers used the [[reverse 911]] emergency system to notify many residents and property owners of the rampage going on in the town.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grudge spawns trail of destruction: Granby man kills himself after rampage in armor-plated bulldozer|work=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]]|location=Colorado Springs|date=June 6, 2004 |first=Deedee|last=Correll|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2755691.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
Defenders of Heemeyer contended that he made a point of not hurting anybody during his bulldozer rampage;<ref name="msnbc" /> Ian Daugherty, a bakery owner, said Heemeyer "went out of his way" not to harm anyone. Others offered different views. The sheriff's department argued the fact that no one was injured was not due to good intent as much as it must have been due to luck. Heemeyer had installed two rifles in firing ports on the inside of the bulldozer,<ref name="denverpost">{{cite web| title= Interior of Bulldozer |work=[[The Denver Post]]|url= http://extras.denverpost.com/slideshows/dozer_slideshow.html | accessdate= September 26, 2007}}</ref> and fired 15 bullets from his rifle at power transformers and propane tanks. "Had these tanks ruptured and exploded, anyone within one-half mile (800 m) of the explosion could have been endangered," the sheriff's department said; within such a range were 12 police officers and residents of a senior citizens complex.<ref name="Durango"/> The sheriff's department also asserted Heemeyer fired many bullets from his semi-automatic rifle at Cody Docheff when Docheff tried to stop the assault on his concrete batch plant by using a [[wheel tractor-scraper]], which was pushed aside by Heemeyer's bulldozer. Later, Heemeyer fired on two state patrol officers before they had fired at him.<ref name="Durango"/> The sheriff's department also noted that 11 of the 13 buildings Heemeyer bulldozed were occupied until moments before their destruction. At the town library, for example, a children's program was in progress when the incident began.<ref name="cozine"/><ref name="Durango">{{cite web|url=http://archives.durangotelegraph.com/04-06-24/mountain_exchange.htm|title=Dozer rampage roots run deep|accessdate=March 7, 2008 |work=[[Durango Telegraph]] |date=June 24, 2004}}</ref>
One officer dropped a [[Stun grenade|flash-bang grenade]] down the bulldozer's exhaust pipe, with no apparent effect. Local and state patrol, including a SWAT team, walked behind and beside the bulldozer, occasionally firing, but the armored bulldozer was impervious to their shots. Attempts to disable the bulldozer's cameras with gunfire failed as the bullets were unable to penetrate the 3-inch (7.6 cm) bulletproof plastic. At one point, [[Undersheriff]] Glenn Trainor climbed atop the bulldozer and rode it "like a bronc-buster, trying to figure out a way to get a bullet inside the dragon".<ref name="cozine"/> However, he was forced to jump off to avoid being hit with debris.<ref name="cozine"/>
At this point, local authorities and the Colorado State Patrol feared they were running out of options in terms of firepower, and that Heemeyer would soon turn against civilians in Granby. Then-governor [[Bill Owens (Colorado politician)|Bill Owens]] allegedly considered authorizing the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] to use either an [[AH-64 Apache|Apache]] attack helicopter equipped with a [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire]] missile or a two-man fire team equipped with a [[FGM-148 Javelin|Javelin]] anti tank missile to destroy the bulldozer, only to deem the option unnecessary due to Heemeyer getting stuck in the Gambles hardware store. As late as 2011, Governor Owens' staff still vehemently denied considering such a course of action, but since then members of the State Patrol revealed that, to the contrary, the governor did consider authorizing an attack but ultimately decided against it due to the potential for collateral damage of a missile strike in the heart of Granby being significantly higher than what Heemeyer could have caused with his bulldozer.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Franscell|first1=Ron|title=The Crime Buff's Guide to the Outlaw Rocky Mountains|date=2011-04-05|publisher=Morris Book Publishing LLC|location=Guilford, Connecticut |pages=107–108 }}</ref>
Two problems arose as Heemeyer destroyed the Gambles hardware store. The radiator of the dozer had been damaged and the engine was leaking various fluids, and Gambles had a small basement. The bulldozer's engine failed, and Heemeyer dropped one tread into the basement, but could not get out. About a minute later, one of the SWAT team members, who had swarmed around the machine, reported hearing a single gunshot from inside the sealed cab. It was later determined that Heemeyer had shot himself in the head with a .357-caliber handgun.<ref name="msnbc" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Armored dozer was bad to go: Reporters get peek inside Heemeyer's destructive machine|work=[[Rocky Mountain News]]|location=Denver|date=June 25, 2004. He ended his rampage leaving few buildings out of his reign of terror. Granby Letter Saver inc., the Granby Beauty Salon, Luksa Family Restaurant, and places past the 4th intersection. |last=Aguilar|first=John|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120544009.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
Police first used explosives in an attempt to remove the steel plates, but after the third explosion failed, they cut through them with an [[Oxy-fuel welding and cutting|oxyacetylene cutting torch]]. Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holahan stated that authorities were able to access and remove Heemeyer's body at 2:00{{nbsp}}a.m. on June 5.<ref>{{cite news|title=Officials: Man who drove bulldozer is dead|work=[[The Oakland Tribune]]|location=San Jose|date=June 6, 2004 |first=P.Solomon|last=Banda|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-6987857.html|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref>
===Fate of the bulldozer===
On April 19, 2005, the town announced plans to [[Scrap|scrap]] Heemeyer's bulldozer. The plan involved dispersing individual pieces to many separate scrap yards to prevent souvenir-taking.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dozer digs its own grave: Used by angry resident to attack Granby, machine to be dismantled as scrap|work=[[Rocky Mountain News]]|location=Denver|date=March 1, 2005|last=Crecente|first=Brian D.|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-129458602.html|accessdate=January 17, 2016|via=[[HighBeam Research]]|subscription=yes}}</ref>
==Motivation==
In addition to writings that he left on the wall of his shed, Heemeyer recorded a number of audio tapes explaining his motivation for the attack. He mailed these to his brother in South Dakota shortly before stepping into his bulldozer. Heemeyer's brother turned the tapes over to the FBI, who in turn sent them to the Grand County Sheriff's Department. The tapes were released by the Grand County Sheriff's Office on August 31, 2004. The tapes are about 2.5 hours in length.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=49366 |title=Newly released audiotapes detail reasons for Granby bulldozer rampage |first=Paula |last=Woodward |publisher=[[KUSA-TV]]|accessdate=June 6, 2009}}</ref>
The first recording was made on April 13, 2004. The last recording was made 13 days before the rampage.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
"God built me for this job," Heemeyer said in the first recording. He also said it was God's plan that he not be married or have a family so that he could be in a position to carry out such an attack. "I think God will bless me to get the machine done, to drive it, to do the stuff that I have to do," he said. "God blessed me in advance for the task that I am about to undertake. It is my duty. God has asked me to do this. It's a cross that I am going to carry and I'm carrying it in God's name."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3697785/detail.html |title=Man Who Bulldozed Granby Says He Got Idea From God |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |accessdate=April 8, 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413145608/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3697785/detail.html |archivedate=April 13, 2008 |df= }}</ref>
Investigators later found Heemeyer's handwritten list of targets. According to the police, it included the buildings he destroyed, the local Catholic church (which he didn't damage), and the names of various people who had sided against him in past disputes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3394824/detail.html |title=7NEWS Looks Inside Granby Work Shed Where 'Dozer Was Outfitted |publisher=[[KMGH-TV]] |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222044045/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3394824/detail.html |archivedate=2008-02-22 |df= }}</ref>
==See also==
* ''[[Leviathan (2014 film)|Leviathan]]'' – film inspired by the story of Heemeyer
* [[Shawn Nelson (San Diego Tank Rampage)|Shawn Nelson]] – perpetrator of a similar vehicle rampage in [[San Diego]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|journal=The Concrete Producer |date=November 1, 2005 |title=Terror in Granby |first=Tom |last=Bagsarian |publisher=[[Hanley Wood]] |location=Rosemont, IL |url=http://www.theconcreteproducer.com/Images/Terror%20in%20Granby_tcm77-1308172.pdf |accessdate=January 17, 2016 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414094159/http://www.theconcreteproducer.com/Images/Terror%20in%20Granby_tcm77-1308172.pdf |archivedate=April 14, 2016 |df= }}
==External links==
* [http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/destroyed-in-seconds-bulldozer-rampage.html Discovery Channel – Destroyed in Seconds video]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Washington Post Article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060526094629/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3383547/detail.html Denver Channel Article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html CBS4: Bulldozer Rampage Revisited]
* {{YouTube|PZbG9i1oGPA|News Coverage}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html |title=Site detailing Marvin Heemeyer's dispute with City Hall |accessdate=2005-09-20 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html |archivedate=2004-10-12 |df= }}
* [http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Granby/Granby.htm Granby Damage, includes several pictures of the incident]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.angelfire.com/co4/anw_dal_hub/rmpg.html |title=Rampage In Granby |date=June 6, 2004 |publisher=The Denver Post}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heemeyer, Marvin}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in Colorado]]
[[Category:American criminals]]
[[Category:2004 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Grand County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Improvised armoured fighting vehicles]]
[[Category:Criminals who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Attacks in the United States in 2004]]
[[Category:Vehicular rampage in the United States]]' |
