Aurora, Colo. has experienced another tragedy involving a barricaded gunman. The gunman and three people were found dead in a home in Aurora, Colo. after police exchanged fire with the gunman to end a standoff Saturday morning, Jan. 5, CNN reported.
Earlier an uninjured woman had escaped from the home. The woman told police she saw what appeared to be three lifeless people inside the home. The woman said a man was firing shots inside the residence before 3:00 a.m. that morning.
Sources say that during the standoff with police the gunman behaved “very irrationally,” hung up the phone on negotiators, and ignored bullhorn commands to exit the premises. Tear gas did not faze the gunman, authorities said.
In a statement Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said:
“The male was given multiple commands to come out of the house both on the phone and from a bullhorn outside. He did not comply.”
Five hours into the standoff a SWAT team in an armored vehicle broke out a window of the house, and the gunman fired upon the vehicle but did not injure any of the officers, police said. Police did not return fire at that time.
Approximately an hour later, the gunman did fire upon officers from a second floor window, and this time police returned fire, striking the suspect. Police entered the residence and found the gunman, two men and a woman dead. Police are not releasing the names of the victims or the gunman at this time.
“We do believe that they all knew each other, possibly related. It’s unclear if they all lived at the home or what the status of that is,” Sgt. Carlson said.
The officers who fired their weapons were placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal review of the incident.
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