The Colorado Supreme Court building in downtown Denver remains indefinitely closed after a man allegedly broke in Tuesday morning, fired a gun and set a fire.
It may be weeks before employees can return to work in the Ralph Carr Judicial Building’s office tower, according to the Colorado Judicial Department.
“Our main focus is on employee safety and continuity of operations for all tenants of the building,” said Jon Sarche, a spokesman for the department. “Water damage to several floors of the building is significant and will likely take months to repair.”
Sarche said there’s no estimate of how much it will cost to make the repairs.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which is housed in the building, has been particularly affected by the closure.
Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for the office, said the fire was on the building’s 7th floor and that there was heavy damage on that floor and on the 6th floor. The Attorney General’s Office occupies both floors.
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A police officer wrote in an arrest affidavit that there was standing water from fire suppression sprinklers on the 7th floor and burned papers were in the water. There were also at least two glass windows with bullet holes and a semi-automatic pistol was found on a table in a conference room.
“Department of Law employees are working remotely until we can return to our offices,” Pacheco said.
Sarche said the Colorado Supreme Court’s business hasn’t been interrupted — so far. The court’s next oral arguments are scheduled for the middle of the month.
Oral arguments before the Colorado Court of Appeals, which is also housed in the Carr building, have been vacated for the next two weeks.
“It’s not yet known when they will be rescheduled,” he said.
Brandon Olsen, 44, was arrested in the break-in on suspicion of robbery, burglary and arson. He is being held at the Downtown Denver Detention Center in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
Police say the situation at the Colorado Supreme Court building began at about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday when Olsen was involved in a two-vehicle crash at the nearby intersection of East 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street, during which he allegedly pointed a handgun at another driver.
Soon after, the Colorado State Patrol said, Olsen shot out a window on the east side of the Carr building.
“The individual entered the building and came in contact with an unarmed security guard from the Colorado State Patrol Capitol Security Unit,” the Colorado State Patrol said in its news release. “The individual held the security guard at gunpoint and demanded access to other parts of the building.”
Authorities say Olsen took keys from the guard and traveled to other parts of the building, accessing “an unknown number of floors.”
Olsen surrendered at about 3 a.m. after calling 911. His first court appearance was scheduled for Wednesday.
The Colorado State Patrol and Denver Police Department said no one was injured in the break-in and that they don’t believe the incident had anything to do with the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision last month to block Donald Trump from appearing on Colorado’s 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot. The court has faced threats since issuing the ruling.
Olsen’s ex-wife, Tori Schumacher, told The Denver Post that Olsen has “no affiliation politically whatsoever” and that he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
“He wanted to see his children and we didn’t allow that and he just went a little crazy,” Schumacher told The Post.