A former pastor of a Fountain Hills church was gunned down on the street in front of Denver’s Union Station late Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Scott Von Lanken was working for Allied Universal Security Services, a company providing contract security for Denver’s Regional Transportation District, helping two women with directions to a light rail train when he was shot at close range in the back of the neck. He died on the way to the hospital.

Von Lanken had been lead pastor at the First Assembly of God at Ironwood Drive and Fountain Hills Blvd. from fall 1998 through late 2001.

Denver Police apprehended a suspect hiding just a few blocks from the scene of the shooting. He is a 37-year-old former Army sergeant who lived in Texas before moving to Colorado.

The suspect had converted to Islam and was considered radicalized by many who had contact with him. In fact, officials at a Denver mosque reported concerns about the man to the Department of Homeland Security on Christmas Eve last year.

Denver Police put its officers on alert because they suspect the motive for the shooting is the fact that Von Lanken was wearing a uniform and was armed. The suspect is known to have written against the government and police.