Marvin John Heemeyer was a skilled welder and automobile muffler-shop owner who, on June 4, 2004 destroyed a significant portion of Granby, Colorado in the United States of America.

Heemeyer was born in South Dakota. He had disputes with various officials and individuals in Granby, particularly involving a zoning dispute which allowed a concrete factory to be constructed opposite his place of business.

Described by local people as very intelligent and an expert at welding, he constructed an improvised 85-ton tank by welding steel armor fortified with concrete onto a 53-ton Komatsu D335A bulldozer (which was initially identified as a Caterpillar D9). He destroyed many buildings, including the City Hall, though no one was killed.

Heemeyer apparently committed suicide after the radiator on his bulldozer failed. He was 52 years old.

Impervious to gunfire, it took the police hours to penetrate the stalled tank and remove Heemeyer's body.

Many believe Heemeyer's actions to embody traditional American Outlaw values, calling Heemeyer a modern-day Billy the Kid or Ned Kelly. The makeshift tank constructed by Heemeyer was quickly dubbed Killdozer and has since achieved a kind of folk hero status.

It should be noted, however, that Heemeyer seemed to make deliberate and calculated movements with the bulldozer, and not once was a person's life in jeopardy, possibly owing to the fact that Marvin Heemeyer wished to make a point (albeit in an unorthodox way), and was not wishing to cause harm to life.

External links

• Summit Daily: The armored rampage
• Denver Post: Damage described