21 years ago today the world was introduced to the Killdozer

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Heemeyer had feuded with Granby town officials, particularly over fines for violating city health ordinances after local officials made it financially impossible for Heemeyer to connect to the city sewage system. He was subsequently fined for improperly dumping sewage from his business instead of connecting to the city sewer system. His feud came to a head[colloquialism] on June 4, 2004. Over about eighteen months Heemeyer had secretly modified a Komatsu D355A bulldozer by adding layers of steel and concrete, intended to serve as armor.[1] He used this to demolish the Granby town hall, the former mayor's house, and several other buildings. Heemeyer's rampage concluded with his suicide, after his bulldozer became trapped in the basement of a hardware store he had been in the process of destroying.

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The attack lasted for two hours and seven minutes, damaging thirteen buildings,[7] knocking out natural gas service to the town hall and the concrete plant, damaging a truck, and destroying part of a utility service center.[9] Despite the great damage to property, no one besides Heemeyer (by a self-inflicted gunshot wound) was killed in the event.[1] However, the modified bulldozer came to be known as "Killdozer" after the name of a short story by Theodore Sturgeon.[10] The damage was estimated at $7 million.[11][12] According to Grand County commissioner James Newberry, emergency dispatchers used the reverse 911 emergency system to notify many residents and property owners of the rampage going on in the town.

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