Before Ryan Egelston was arrested with a handgun in the front seat of his car Sunday, he allegedly spit at a man who asked to share a Washington Park bench with him, according to a Denver Police Department arrest affidavit.

When the alleged victim got up to walk away, Egelston punched him and shot a bullet into his bicycle tire, the affidavit said, terrorizing him.

Egelston “thought the man was a pedophile and wanted to touch him,” according to police.

In less than a minute Egelston, 28, walked southbound in the area of East Kentucky Avenue and South Downing Street and fired at a second person from behind, hitting him in the jaw and neck, Denver police said.

“At no point did the victim and defendant appear to have any sort of disagreement or altercation before the shooting,” the responding officer noted in the arrest document. 

The time was around 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

Egelston fled on foot and then took off in his car before police apprehended him after a chase, remarking in the affidavit that they saw a Glock handgun in the front seat. 

The person who was shot was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.

The incident surprised and traumatized dozens of people who visited the popular “Wash Park” to enjoy an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon. 

Police interviewed the suspect, but that portion of the probable cause affidavit was redacted. 

Still, a glimpse into the suspect’s life showed some clues as to his mindset. Egelston was no stranger to social media, posting often about Christianity. On an Aug. 29, 2024, Facebook post, he showed what appeared to be scribbles in red pencil that he called “a vision of heaven” that he claimed God gave him. 

Egelston’s name is also shown as the creator of a blog in which he says he is a Revelation 11 Witness and describes himself as “a man of faith, people lover, reader, entrepreneur, speaker, rising author, listener, joy enthusiast, and hustler.” He advertised that he was available for speeches.

Egleston had his first court appearance Monday morning. He has not been formally charged, but is being held on $1 million bond.