COLO. SPRINGS– The CSGT morning headline described Aurora shooter: GUNMAN WAS LIKE ASSASSIN GOING TO WAR, but the next news cycle warned of a pro, this time an Army Ranger, cruising the city, who’d flown from Fort Lewis, Washington with the intention of killing his ex-fiance, her new boyfriend, then himself. The 5-foot-5 Sgt. Joshua Johnston Daner, a special forces soldier nicknamed “Little Monster”, has three guns, “violent tendencies” and possibly an injured hand from punching a wall. If you think having to look out for one Army Ranger is bad, imagine a city in a US war zone, Iraq or Afghanistan where Daner served for example, bracing for teams of “Little Monsters”, a death squad of Rangers, or brigades of regulars behaving with less discipline than special ops, with the authority to hit you as they would a wall.
With no clue to the whereabouts of said ex, Colorado Springs residents are bracing for a city wide free fire zone, though a drive-by at a strip-bar seems the most likely scenario. If you’re not chatting up a stripper looking to scam a soldier for their life insurance, you’re probably not in the line of fire.
So far the Gazette has this:
Daner has served eight four- or five-month tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Mark Edwards, an Army Human Resources spokesman. He most recently returned in February 2011 from a five-month tour in Afghanistan, Edwards said.
Daner entered the Army in 2003, completed ranger training in July 2006 and has been stationed at Fort Lewis since around that time, Edwards said. Daner has received numerous military commendations, including the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one campaign star, as well as the Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, Edwards said.
Army Rangers are a group of highly-trained troops who specialize in airborne operations, along with raiding facilities and enemy compounds, according to the Army. The 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
No reports yet of a Daner rap-sheet, though obviously investigators should look to his deployment record for priors.