It was 20 years ago that Killdozer went out to play.
For those who don’t remember this incredible event, Marvin Heemeyer was a man who owned a muffler repair shop in Granby, a small town in Colorado. Things weren’t going great for Heemeyer. He had been engaged in a long-standing dispute with the city over zoning issues and the construction of a concrete plant near his shop, and when a lawsuit against the city failed, he decided to do what any normal person would do in the same situation: buy a bulldozer.
Of course, Heemeyer didn’t initially plan to take his Komatsu D355A bulldozer on a rampage. Instead, he wanted to sell it — but when that failed, he saw it as a sign that he needed to go all in on what would become Killdozer.
And so, he sold his property and set to work outfitting the beast with steel and concrete armor, cameras, monitors and gun ports. Then, on June 4, 2004, he set to work destroying the town that he believed had done him wrong.
Driving his fortified bulldozer, he began to systematically target buildings associated with those he held grievances against. These included the concrete plant, the town hall, the offices of the local newspaper, the home of the former mayor and more.
Heemeyer didn’t kill anyone during his rampage, though he managed to do about $7 million in property damage before his bulldozer was stopped. Police were unable to apprehend him, and when they finally managed to crack open his contraption, they found that Heemeyer had taken his own life. In total, Heemeyer’s attack lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes.
While many were terrified during Heemeyer’s spree, some have since argued that his attack did eventually do a little good for the community, as payouts from insurance allowed people to give the town needed improvements.
At the very least, it gave us some incredible footage.
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