Breaking News Alert: Colorado Springs Mass Shooter Surrenders

Re-posted by Nicholas Stix

The shooter, described earlier as a white man, surrendered to police at 4:52 p.m., MDT (6:52 p.m., EDT) today. He was alive, and has not otherwise been identified.

Eleven people were wounded at the scene and transported to local hospital, including five policemen, though it was not clear if that number included only victims, or the perp, as well. So far, there have been no known fatalities. No information has been provided to the public as to the shooter’s identity, or possible motive.
 

Gunman Gives Up After Colorado Standoff That Leaves 11 Hurt
By Phil Helsel, Andrew Blankstein and Pete Williams
November 27, 2015
NBC News

Multiple Injuries in Shooting at Planned Parenthood Facility in Colorado

A gunman entered a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Friday, firing from the building and injuring police officers during a five-hour standoff that ended with his surrender.

The gunman walked out of facility just before 5 p.m. local time, and officers took him into custody, officials told NBC News.

A total of 11 people, five of them police officers, were injured in the day of violence and taken to area hospitals, police said. Police said they had no information that anyone died.

"At this point I have as many questions as you do," Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey told reporters before heading to the hospital to visit injured officers.


Emergency personnel transport an officer to an ambulance after reports of a shooting near the Planned Parenthood clinic Friday, Nov, 27, 2015, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Daniel Owen / AP

Police are still clearing the building, now a crime scene, to make sure several unidentified items that the gunman brought with him are not dangerous, police said.

The shooting and standoff unfolded during a regular working day at the facility, with patients waiting for appointments and staff members attending to them, Colorado Springs Police Department Lt. Catherine Buckley said.

Several escaped during the ordeal, thanks in part to police personnel who rammed the side of the building with a truck, officials told NBC News.

The gunshots were first reported near the Planned Parenthood facility on Centennial Boulevard at around 11:38 a.m., police said.

The gunman, who has not been identified, began in the parking lot of Planned Parenthood and then entered the building, a law enforcement official told NBC News.

Police officers who responded were fired upon, and the gunman fired at police at various times during the ensuing standoff, police said.


A police vehicle, carrying a suspect, is lead [sic] away after a shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in Colorado Springs, Colo. A gunman opened fire at the clinic on Friday, authorities said, wounding multiple people. David Zalubowski / AP

At one point, the gunman, armed with an AK-47-style weapon, was surrounded in the lobby, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Authorities tapped into the building's video surveillance system, and were able to monitor the gunman's movements, officials said.

Dozens of people at nearby businesses were ordered to lock the doors and shelter in place as police responded to the scene. After the standoff ended, authorities began releasing them, Buckley said.

Joan Motolinia said his sister was in the clinic when gunshots were heard. "She called me and she was screaming there was a shooting," he said. "She couldn't say too much because she was afraid."

"She was telling me she was hiding under a table," Motolinia said. He said he heard more shots over the phone, and his sister hung up.

[“Hiding” under a table, while screaming her head off. Makes perfect sense to me.]

Caren Kesterson was working at a nearby Supercuts hair salon when two police cars sped past.

"We got up and we looked outside, and it was like almost immediately we heard gunshots — easily over 20," Kesterson told MSNBC by telephone.

The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives were among several law enforcement agencies who responded.

A White House official said President Barack Obama has been notified about the situation.

Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, said Friday that "we don't yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack."

But she vowed in a statement: "We will never back away from providing care in a safe, supportive environment that millions of people rely on and trust."