Three people were killed in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday morning before city police officers shot and killed a suspect, said the sheriff’s office of El Paso County.
CNN affiliate KRDO reported that a heavily armed man shot and killed a bicyclist and two women. Witnesses said the man set the second floor of a residence on fire, KDRO reported.
Police received a report of a shooting about 8:45 a.m. along with a description of a suspect, the sheriff’s office said.
Police encountered the suspect at Platte Avenue and Wasatch Street. The suspect fired multiple shots, and police returned fire and killed the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.
Aaron Nicks told CNN affiliate KKTV that police shot the man “a good 20 times.”
“What I saw was he kind of, like, spun around and [police] yelled, ‘Drop it,’ and he kind of [gestures as though he’s holding a gun] went to aim and that’s when they shot him down.”
A pedestrian told KRDO that he was almost caught in the crossfire.
“The cop pulled up and said, ‘Drop your gun,’ and as soon as I heard that I got on my stomach in the median and they started shooting at each other and the bullets went over me,” Ross Trottier said.
No identities or details were given concerning the people killed or the suspect. “We do not believe there is any further threat to the community,” the department said in a news release.
About 10 downtown blocks were shut down while the incident is investigated, Jacqueline Kirby of the sheriff’s office told CNN.
No motive has been released. The sheriff’s office took over the investigation, as state law requires when an officer-involved shooting occurs. The officers who fired at the suspect have been placed on routine administrative leave.
Colorado Springs, with a population of about 445,000, is located at the base of Pike’s Peak and is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy.
