LITTLETON, Colo. — Authorities investigating a fire that led to the discovery of a pipe bomb and propane tanks in a Colorado mall released three new surveillance photos Friday of a man who officials say is now consider a suspect in the case.
The new photos of the man show him riding a public bus away from Southwest Plaza Mall on Tuesday evening, the night before the fire.
They provide the best view yet of the man, who has a grey mustache. He is wearing the same clothes he was wearing at the mall Wednesday.
The latest photos show a University of South Carolina logo on his baseball hat.
Authorities originally considered the man a person of interest in the case, but Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Mark Techmeyer said Friday that information from the investigation led investigators to consider him a suspect. Techmeyer wouldn't elaborate.
Previously released photos show him entering a stairwell at the mall through a door not normally used by the public and riding an escalator, carrying a plastic shopping bag.
The mall is about two miles away from Columbine High School and the fire and the discovery of the explosives came on the 12th anniversary of the shootings that killed 13 people there. Authorities couldn't help seeing similarities between the two events, which happened around the same time of day.
The two propane tanks found at Southwest Plaza Mall were discovered in a hallway of the food court after the fire was reported around 11:50 a.m. Wednesday.
The Columbine shootings started at 11:19 a.m. and ended at 12:08 p.m. on April 20, 1999, with the suicides of the two teenage gunmen. Unexploded pipe bombs and propane tanks with explosives attached were found in the school cafeteria after the shooting.
Through the years, students across the country have been accused of threats and incidents modeled after Columbine.
Brian Rohrbough, whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine, said he drove by the mall on his way to the Columbine memorial and saw emergency vehicles. He said he prayed the situation wasn't related to Columbine.
"The kind of crime like Columbine will motivate a certain segment of the population to attempt the same type of crime," Rohrbough said. "Whether they're doing it because they're purely evil or in addition to being evil, they just want attention, I don't know."