Suspect in Jehovah’s Witnesses hall attack in Colorado bombed office before murder-suicide

THORNTON, Colo. — A Colorado man who planted explosives on Sunday at a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall also bombed an office before killing himself and his wife in the parking lot of the house of worship, authorities said.

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According to a news release from the Thornton Police Department, Enoch Noah Apodaca, 46, and his wife, Melissa Susanna Apodaca, 44, both of Westminster, are believed to be responsible for setting off explosives at the office and placing others at the Jehovah’s Witnesses building.

Some media outlets, including The Denver Post and The Westminster Window, identified the woman as Melissa Susanna Martinez.

Enoch Apodaca caused a “large explosion” at the IBEW Local Union 68 building in Thornton at around 8:45 a.m. MST Christmas Day before heading to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall, the Post reported. No one was injured as the union building was empty at the time of the explosion, according to the newspaper.

A Local 68 union representative declined to comment when contacted Tuesday and Wednesday, the Post reported.

Apodaca, an electrician, was fired in June 2021 by his employer, Sturgeon Electric Company Inc., according to the newspaper.

Approximately 15 minutes after the explosion at the union hall, the couple arrived at the parking lot of the Jehovah’s Witnesses hall, police said.

According to witnesses, Enoch Apodaca was observed directing his wife to back a black Dodge truck up to the building, KDVR-TV reported. He then broke a window with a hammer and placed three explosive devices into the building, police said.

On Monday, police described the devices as “pipe bomb-like,” KMGH-TV reported.

Melissa exited the truck, and her husband shot her in the back of the head with a shotgun before shooting himself with the same weapon, police said.

The couple died at the scene.

The bombs inside the meeting hall did not explode and only two people were inside the building, the Post reported. Investigators later determined that one device “nearly detonated” before it was extinguished or malfunctioned, police said.

That device was “attached to a bucket” that was similar to the one used in the union office bombing, according to police.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas, but the congregation’s regular Sunday meeting was set to begin at 9:30 a.m. MST, according to KUSA-TV.

Court filings obtained by the television station showed that Enoch Apodaca had threatened to shoot his wife and former co-workers about a year before Sunday’s shootings.

During their investigation, Thornton police searched the Apodaca residence but did not find any other explosive devices, KMGH reported. However, police did discover items typically used in the manufacturing of explosives.

“It also appeared that personal belongings had been set out and clearly marked to be distributed to specific family members,” police said.

The couple had been previous members of the Kingdom Hall but “were no longer welcome.”

Enoch Apodaca had reached out to a member of the Kingdom Hall congregation about rejoining the community on Saturday, the Post reported. That member directed him to the community’s elders, police said.

Mark Cordova, a spokesperson for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, said he could not provide any further information, KUSA reported.

Westminster police records showed a concerned caller warned police on Sept. 13, 2021, that Enoch Apodaca was threatening violence, using drugs and withdrawing from his family after he and his wife were fired from their jobs, the Post reported.

“He said people were going to pay and there is going to be carnage,” the police call taker noted.

Westminster police did not return requests for comment Wednesday, according to the newspaper. Records show that Westminster police received seven calls for service to the Apodacas’ address since September 2021, including two welfare checks and one report of harassment.

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