AURORA, Colo. —
Four people, including an armed suspect, died during an hours-long police standoff Saturday at a Colorado townhome, authorities said.
An Aurora police department SWAT team responded after shots were heard at the home at about 3 a.m., Aurora police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said. Investigators said two men and a woman appeared to have been killed before officers arrived.
The suspect shot at police who approached the front of the home with an armored vehicle and tear gas at about 8:15 a.m., and he was killed when he fired at officers from a second-story window about 45 minutes later, Carlson said. It wasn’t known if officers shot the suspect or if he shot himself.
A fifth person escaped unharmed and called police to report that she saw three people inside the home who “appeared lifeless,” said Carlson, who declined to elaborate about the woman’s escape.
A motive for the killings was unknown. Police wearing gloves and carrying evidence bags were going over the crime scene.
“We’re just getting in there with our crime scene detectives, so obviously we’ll have to determine if it was our rounds or his rounds,” Carlson said.
Police declined to release the name of the suspect or victims.
“We have an idea of who they are, but we obviously want to confirm their identities with the coroner,” said Carlson, who declined to release the relationship between the victims and the shooter.
Officers evacuated neighbors’ homes during the standoff and used a bullhorn to communicate with the gunman, urging him to surrender.
“After we arrived on scene, there were no more shots fired up until he fired at us,” Carlson said. “During this time he was all over the house. He moved furniture. He was throwing things. He was agitated. He was irrational.”
A large front window was missing in the modest two-story townhome, the window’s mini-blinds in disarray. Bullet holes marked two upstairs windows, and neighbors milled about outside.
The shootings occurred about four miles southeast of the Aurora Mall, where 12 people were killed and dozens were wounded by a gunman at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20. The man charged in that shooting, James Holmes, goes to court Monday for a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors will lay out their case against him.
Aurora, just east of Denver, is one of Colorado’s largest and most diverse cities with more than 335,000 residents. It is home to Buckley Air Force Base as well as the sprawling University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus.
National, International News
4 dead after police standoff at a Colo. townhome
- National, International News
-
-
Wave of attacks kills at least 95 in Iraq
A wave of attacks killed at least 95 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 240 and extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years.
-
Arias attorneys will put one witness on: Arias
Complaining that Jodi Arias’ sensational murder case has become a modern-day “witch trial,” her lawyers tried to quit in the middle of the death-penalty phase Monday, then said they will call only one witness: Arias.
-
Oklahoma twister tracked path of 1999 tornado
Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.
-
Dozens killed as tornado ravages Oklahoma City area
A powerful late-afternoon tornado leveled much of this Oklahoma community Monday, killing at least 51 people. Reporters on helicopters flying above the scene described the scene as “devastating.”
-
Today in History for Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
-
Several Republicans weigh challenge to Barrow
Now that Rep. John Barrow has turned down a campaign for the U.S. Senate, the challenge ahead for the Deep South’s last white Democratic congressman will be to defy the odds a second time by winning re-election in an eastern Georgia district that was drawn to ensure his defeat.
-
‘Trek’ does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes
“Star Trek: Into Darkness” has warped its way to a $70.6 million domestic launch from Friday to Sunday, though it’s not setting any light-speed records with a debut that’s lower than the studio’s expectations.
-
Syrian troops push into strategic rebel-held town
Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the capital to the Mediterranean coast.
-
Taylor Swift wins 8 trophies at Billboard Awards
Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.
-
Tornadoes level homes in Okla., 21 injured
One of several tornadoes that touched down Sunday in Oklahoma turned homes in a trailer park near Oklahoma City into splinters and rubble and sent frightened residents along a 100-mile corridor scurrying for shelter.
- More National, International News Headlines
-
