Three police officers have been shot in an exchange of gunfire, in or near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. One police officer was shot in the hand, law enforcement told KKTV. Two of the injured officers have been moved to safety, while police are still trying to move the third out of harm's way.
The lone gunman shot multiple people, then barricaded himself inside Planned Parenthood, said Mike Violette, the executive director for the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police.
A police dispatch quoted by the Colorado Springs Gazette said there are at least four civilian casualties in the attack by the gunman at the building in Centennial Blvd. It is not clear how serious their injuries are.
The newspaper quoted police radio as saying a gunman in a long coat and wearing a "hunting-type" hat had begun shooting out the back window of his vehicle as an officer approached. "Rounds are coming through the window," one police officer reportedly told a dispatcher.
Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Catherine Buckley told reporters: "We do not have the shooter at this point. We do consider this still an active situation. There could be hostages and there could be an additional shooter at large," she said.
"There are a lot of possibilities with this scenario. As I said, it is very active and we are working our way through it."
It was not immediately clear whether Planned Parenthood was the target of the shooting. "We're not sure what the connection is to Planned Parenthood, but that was the original address we received for the call for service," Buckley said.
Police responded to a call from Planned Parenthood at 11.38am local time, but it was not immediately clear that the shooting incident had occurred at the women's healthcare clinic, Buckley said. She said the gunman, whose motives are unknown, was thought to be armed with a long gun. Ms Buckley added that they were trying to locate the suspect and could not confirm reports he was barricaded inside the clinic at Centennial Blvd.
The gunman has been described as a white male who is about 6 feet tall with a white beard.
Local TV station KKTV reported that three of the shooting victims were being taken to the city's Penrose hospital and "an unknown amount of other victims" were being taken to Memorial hospital, also in Colorado Springs.
Earlier, the US police department confirmed in a tweet that it was responding to a call about gunfire at the family planning clinic in Centennial Blvd. "The area is NOT secure," the tweet added warning locals to stay away from the area.
Planned Parenthood is a US family planning group with clinics nationwide providing services such as contraception, STD testing and abortions. The Colorado Springs branch has been the site of a number of recent protests.
The lone gunman shot multiple people, then barricaded himself inside Planned Parenthood, said Mike Violette, the executive director for the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police.
A police dispatch quoted by the Colorado Springs Gazette said there are at least four civilian casualties in the attack by the gunman at the building in Centennial Blvd. It is not clear how serious their injuries are.
The newspaper quoted police radio as saying a gunman in a long coat and wearing a "hunting-type" hat had begun shooting out the back window of his vehicle as an officer approached. "Rounds are coming through the window," one police officer reportedly told a dispatcher.
Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Catherine Buckley told reporters: "We do not have the shooter at this point. We do consider this still an active situation. There could be hostages and there could be an additional shooter at large," she said.
"There are a lot of possibilities with this scenario. As I said, it is very active and we are working our way through it."
It was not immediately clear whether Planned Parenthood was the target of the shooting. "We're not sure what the connection is to Planned Parenthood, but that was the original address we received for the call for service," Buckley said.
Police responded to a call from Planned Parenthood at 11.38am local time, but it was not immediately clear that the shooting incident had occurred at the women's healthcare clinic, Buckley said. She said the gunman, whose motives are unknown, was thought to be armed with a long gun. Ms Buckley added that they were trying to locate the suspect and could not confirm reports he was barricaded inside the clinic at Centennial Blvd.
The gunman has been described as a white male who is about 6 feet tall with a white beard.
Local TV station KKTV reported that three of the shooting victims were being taken to the city's Penrose hospital and "an unknown amount of other victims" were being taken to Memorial hospital, also in Colorado Springs.
Earlier, the US police department confirmed in a tweet that it was responding to a call about gunfire at the family planning clinic in Centennial Blvd. "The area is NOT secure," the tweet added warning locals to stay away from the area.
Planned Parenthood is a US family planning group with clinics nationwide providing services such as contraception, STD testing and abortions. The Colorado Springs branch has been the site of a number of recent protests.
