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Evan Semon / Reuters
A woman reacts outside a townhouse complex following an overnight hostage situation in Aurora, Colo. on Saturday. Four people died including the gunman, according to police reports.
Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET: Two men and one woman were found dead inside a home in Aurora, Colo., after a gunman took them hostage early Saturday morning, police said in a news release. The gunman was shot and killed by police after hours of failed negotiation attempts.
Another woman who had been inside the house was able to escape uninjured and alert authorities, the news release said. The woman told police that an adult male still inside was armed and had fired shots inside the home. She said she saw three people in the home who appeared lifeless as she was leaving.
This marks another shooting tragedy for Aurora, a suburb still reeling from the summer shooting in which a gunman entered a theater, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. Residents in the city had just been debating whether the movie house chain's owner invited the victims’ families to a special event marking the Jan. 17 reopening, with some threatening to boycott the event.
On Saturday, officers were called to a town home in the 16000 block of E. Ithaca Place shortly before 3 a.m. after reports of shots fired. Several nearby homes were evacuated for safety reasons and police sent out emergency notifications for the other residents in the area.
Officers took positions around the house and attempted to get in touch with the gunman, the news release said. Hostage negotiators arrived at the scene and were able to establish phone contact with the shooter. A SWAT team was also called at the scene.
Evan Semon / Reuters
Police survey the outside of a townhouse complex following an overnight hostage-taking incident in Aurora, Colo. on Saturday.
Police said phone contact with the gunman continued intermittently in the following several hours. Several times, the man was told by phone and by bullhorn to emerge from the house, but he apparently refused.
"He was behaving very irrationally throughout the incident and often hanging up on the negotiators," the news release read.
Around 8 a.m., SWAT members moved to the front of the house to break out a window, which caused the shooter to fire multiple rounds that hit the vehicle but did not injure any officers.
Police did not return fire, and shortly before 9 a.m., the gunman appeared in a second story window, firing again at the officers. Police returned fire, hitting the suspect, the news release said. Upon entering the home, police found the three deceased victims and the gunman was found dead in the upstairs bedroom.
Aurora Police Department Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said no names will be released until the coroner's office confirms the identities.
Meanwhile, a judge set a preliminary hearing for accused Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes for Monday. The hearing is expected to last the entire week. Hundreds of people, including victims, their family members, and members of the public are expected to come.
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Leave a Comment:
Did the Aurora gestapo sweep a 2 block radius, remove people from their homes at gunpoint, cuff, and question everyone to make sure that they had all of the perpetrators? Can't be too careful.
You're way too sensible, thank dog.
Forget the Meth and Bath salts folks. We need to get the hunters and target practice people off the street. They kill more deer and paper targets every year than any other segment of Society.
What is it about Colorado and Aurora? How many of these incidents have to happen before we look beyond the results and try to find the causes? Yes, reducing the size of clips and the agressiveness of the weapons would help. Yes, increasing the odds for early detection and treatment of mental illness would help. Yes, restricting access to violent games, videos, films and music would help. BUT, there has to be a REASON why these kinds of activities are so attractive to certain people. These people must be studied very carefully and the parents of children today must be active and positive influences on their lives.
Perhaps you'd rather live in S. Chicago? How about Oakland, Detroit and many other cities where crime is very commonplace? I have lived in fourteen states, worked in around forty five. Colorado is a much better choice as opposed to say Massachusetts, Illinois, or most of LA or the Bay area. I found Aurora, Littleton and Boulder to be quite nice. Crime happens.... even in Mayberry. Oh Yeah, banning guns will solve the problem and we can all sip a coke and hold hands.
No matter how it is justified, the problem is without question, GUNS!
This is correct,the ones that got greased didn't have any.
Then crossbow knifes lions tigers and bears.
No, not guns, total nut cases that somehow got a gun, the nut case is the problem. I think we should ban nut cases, get them off the street.
The only illiterates who want to ban guns are terrorists, criminals, mentally ill or spineless. Take away all the guns from legitimate licensed tax payers and who is going to be left. Sick and fed up with the ignorance in this Country. Most couldn't tell you what the Presidents name is or what their State Capitol's name is but ohhhhh boy let them hear anything about guns and off they go with all the other loud mouth out of touch ignoramous SHEEPLE!!!!
Guns are not the problem. Gun violence is. We need to have more regulations to assure that guns are in capable hands and we need more mental health facilities to care for those that are mentally ill. It takes us all working together to make this happen.
It is our duty as an American citizen to have a gun, in order to protect our state, or nation, from hostile takeover. Many of us, I'm included, do not like guns. However, I hope that e all recognize the right we have to bear arms. However it is a regulated right as stated in the second amendment. We, the people, are the well regulated militia, that gives the people the right to bear arms.
If ever there is a hostile takeover of this state or nation, you better believe that I will bear arms.
It's not the air in Colorado, it's all that bath salts they are snorting. Or maybe just some copy cats
Aurora is the new Compton
@KeenInsight...you must been "keen" to be able to make such an astute comment les than eight hours after the last victim expired. Catch a clue, dude.
These are high profile black ops being conducted to turn public against guns. High profile suburban. The hood will always have illegal guns. Now for the some proof the globalist UN minded gun control are behind this and are taunting people who are aware you tube aurora sandy hook dark knight. The poster points out in the movie the neon Auroa sign over a building in a downtown at nite sceen. Then while looking at a map two names on the map can be made out Gothem and Sandy Hook??? Hollywood propaganda machine along w/ mainstream media are also imployed to fuel the hype. New World Order.
Mary Jones @1.1 Don't know whether I am the first, but count me in. The NRA is...
Not
Right for
America
Also the aarp and naacp. These ALSO are groups formed to help their members. Hell, we can't have that.
Maybe the AARP should provide guns to all members.
Government plants! Obamas re-election (lol) will generate mass murders accross the nation; he cant take over America if he has to deal with an armed public; good luck with that plan!
Stevie & Mary I will bet any amount of money the shooter was not a member of the NRA-I'll also bet that neither of you are 'right for America'!
That is okay, you can be wrong if you want.
Our hearts cry for all involved, and pray for this nation.
BTW,,, more people were killed with hammers last year than with guns.
Where did you get that info.
The only way to solve the high number of gun death and injury is....more guns...
The NRA
Yep, we need a "guns for hammers" exchange.
Another, guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people, no kidding, just wait until Monday morning, KHOW talk radio when the angry, old, white males and their paranoia hit the airways, they'll claim if everyone had a gun this wouldn't have happened, hmmmm, guess when one is taken hostage, robbed, or assassinated, the killer announces his actions, allows time for the victim to get and load a gun, aim the gun, shoot it, and that way the playing field is leveled, "guns kill people", "guns are meant to kill", and "people with guns, everywhere and every place, make it easy to commit violent acts". KHOW 630 AM, the gun crazy station who will come up with another jerky argument for more guns and make up stories about how guns save, don't take, lives
If you really wanted to be honest with us AND yourself, you'd read about the many lives saved with guns.
I have lived in Aurora for 20 years and this really is a vile city. There are signs that say "Americas City", but to put things in perspective, Aurora is Colorado's Detroit. You may balk at this, but we actually have laws that allow and encourage wrong doing while expecting the innocent to take the rap. The majority of all major crimes in the Denver metro area seem to be committed in Aurora. There are condos and townhomes that the city approved where the pipes freeze and burst every winter causing thousands in damage and they refuse to take responsibility. I hear sirens from my home on a constant basis. If you are planning on moving to Colorado, avoid Aurora at all cost. Our exit from Aurora is eminent.
It has been many years since I lived in Englewood, so sorry to hear that Aurora has become so jaded.
There is a minority of gun owners who have feces for brains and who are emotionally incapable of having a weapon of mass destruction. Bullsh-t on the second amendment fanatics. For many of them guns are a phallic a sysmbol and a substitute for viagra! They feel like a big man when they have a weapon that can kill many quickly. This is the point the gun is a substitute for what they lack in character. There are people who should not have access to guns period!
And there are a majority of anti-gun people that aren't allowed to have guns. Those folks are on here demanding we get rid of ours.
Hmmmm....anyone see a pattern? I don't know about you but I'm growing NUMB to these reports. Sandy Hook made me realize that I had become so numb because when I realized there were 20 innocent 6 and 7 year olds massacred, it scared me that my initial reaction to the initial reporting was a simple "another day in Mudville...ho-hum." Perhaps the NRA is counting on our growing numb so they can perfect DUMB!
The stupid, evil rednecks want to keep this country as stupid and evil as it was in the Old West for their stupid, evil ancestors.
The only states Romney won were former slave states and states where cowboys killed Indians. The white trash mentality in these states is a complete disgrace to God.
He used one of those military styled weapons, you know,the kind with bullets.
What is going on in Aurora colorado? Are there some drugs in the water that turn people into violent maniacs? This makes me want to do 3 things. 1) Pray to God for help for this Earth. 2) Weep. 3) buy a handgun and a semi automatic rifle and a whole room full of ammo so that when all he11 breaks loose I can defend my family from the murderers, rioters, looters, an psychopaths.
Lighten up everyone, it was just dopers celebration of Colorado's new marijuana law that got out of hand.
At first, this looked like cops were shot, but looks like a sadder story instead.
This shows we need open carry laws, it's not to stop people from using guns, but to stop mass shootings! It seems those without guns are the losers
Ban Assualt Weapons dems
and
Open Carry Repubs!
We need Fair and Balance
Isn't that theater opening back up this week, I wonder how much this will influence the re-opening and how much heat will be packed in there.
No wonder they legalized weed, looks like they need it..
Looks like we are back in the Wild,Wild West.
The Wild West wasn't the wild west that we see in the movies; it was only a little more violent in places than the wild wild east was.