The Latest: Mosque warned feds about Denver shooting suspect

DENVER – The Latest on the killing of a transit guard in downtown Denver (all times local):

2 p.m.

A Denver area mosque warned federal authorities about the radical leanings of man who is now accused of killing a transit officer.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that investigators interviewed Cummings in December after members of a Denver-area mosque reported concerns about him to the FBI. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity

A Dec. 24 email to the Department of Homeland Security provided by an unidentified mosque says that a Muslim convert named Joshua from Pampa, Texas, said it was OK to fight to establish the rule of Islam.

The suspected gunman, Joshua Cummings, has ties to several cities in Texas, including Pampa.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to requests for comment.

— Information from Associated Press writers Sadie Gurman in Washington and Jim Anderson in Denver.

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12:50 p.m.

A court hearing for a man accused in the point blank shooting death of a transit guard in downtown Denver has been cancelled.

Joshua Cummings had been scheduled to appear in county court Thursday afternoon. He will instead appear in state district court Friday under a new policy for murder cases.

Police are looking for a motive for the apparent unprovoked attack Tuesday evening near Union Station, a hub for buses and trains, and the city’s pedestrian mall.

Scott Von Lanken was shot as he was trying to help two women who were afraid they had missed the last light rail train. One of them told investigators the man walked up behind the officer.

Police say they found the 37-year-old Cummings hiding nearby with a 9mm handgun.