A still-unidentified gunman attacked a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs Friday, engaging in a shootout that injured four police officers and a yet-undetermined number of civilians.
According to a police spokeswoman, Colorado Springs police responded to an emergency call reporting shots fired at about 11:30 a.m. Mountain Time. Officers were able to confront the gunman while he was inside the building soon after they arrived on the scene.
“The officers inside the building have encountered the individual,” said police department spokeswoman Lt. Catherine Buckley, speaking to reporters. “They were exchanging gunfire.” She added that four officers were injured in the shooting, while several other people were injured. Authorities have yet to release any information on the nature or extent of the civilians’ injuries.
Buckley added that not all of the injured individuals could immediately be taken to hospitals; at the time she spoke to the media, there was a possibility that some may have remained trapped inside the clinic, which is located some 70 miles south of Denver, on the northwest side of Colorado Springs.
A report from CBS News suggests that the apparently lone gunman started firing shots once he entered the Planned Parenthood clinic, which had security guards on duty, and that the police were worried that he may have also been dealing with explosives. Separately, a Colorado Springs man told a local publication that his daughter works at the abortion clinic and was “in the line of fire.” Officers said that they were “trying to get (the woman) out,” and informed the man that the assailant was using a high-powered rifle.
No details on the gunman’s identity or motive has been released as of presstime.