A man is in custody for allegedly driving through Central Park in downtown Boulder and attempting to run over multiple people.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19. According to the Boulder Police Department, the suspect, Bruce A. Alvey, drove his truck in and out of the park several times, striking multiple pieces of property and narrowly missing several people who ran to get away. People frequently sleep on the lawn at Central Park and nearby along Boulder Creek.
“The thing that is scary about this is that if people would have been sleeping in their sleeping bags this morning, there would have been mass casualties,” Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said during a press conference on Tuesday. “The truck did run over sleeping bags.”
Officers flooded the area and located the unoccupied, parked truck at 15th Street and Arapahoe Avenue. They identified a possible suspect and continued searching the city for the driver, police said. An officer spotted the suspect walking around 9:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of 15th Street and took him into custody.
Alvey, 44, was taken to jail on four counts of Criminal Attempt — Murder in the First Degree. Additional charges are pending.
The police department said they believe the crime was an isolated incident and not connected to any political groups or movements. Officers are investigating possible charges of driving under the influence of narcotics, specifically methamphetamines, during the incident.
“We don’t know his intentions,” Boulder Deputy Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said during the press conference. “Some of the individuals that were in the park at the time, we believe, were unhoused. But we do not know if that was his specific intent.” Redfearn said the police believe Alvey was living out of his truck and did not have a permanent address.
The affected area of Central Park will be closed for about two weeks, police said, as the Parks and Recreation Department conducts a damage assessment, completes repairs to property and restores turf.