Police in Colorado Springs are responding to a report of an active shooter at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Four police officers are injured in addition to an unspecified number of civilians.
Police Lt. Catherine Buckley said authorities also did not know where the gunman was located or whether the shooter had taken any hostages.
"We can't confirm where the shooter is at this point," she said.
Asked if the shooter had taken hostages, Buckley told reporters: "There is that possibility. There are a lot of possibilities with this scenario."
#CentennialBl incident CSPD confirms 3 officers injured unknown civilian injuries situation still not stable.
— Springs Police (@CSPDPIO) November 27, 2015
Buckley also told reporters that the suspect brought "items" with him into the clinic. Police are investigating into whether those items are explosive devices.
Authorities received a call of shots being fired at the Planned Parenthood clinic before noon.
Responding officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, Buckley said, adding that it was not known if the shooting had any connection to Planned Parenthood.
#CentennialBlshooting still active officers are encountering gunfire.
— Springs Police (@CSPDPIO) November 27, 2015
UPDATE: SWAT team just came out of this truck w/ person on stretcher to load into ambulance. pic.twitter.com/dKIMlbGnsR
— Brendaliss Gonzalez (@brendalissg) November 27, 2015
Denise Speller, manager of a nearby hair salon, said she heard as many as 20 gunshots in the span of less than five minutes.
She told The Gazette newspaper that she saw a police cruiser and two officers near a Chase Bank branch, not far from the Planned Parenthood facility.
One of the officers appeared to fall to the ground and the other office knelt down to help and then tried to get the officer to safety behind the car, she said. Another officer told Speller to seek shelter inside the building.
"We're still pretty freaked out," Speller said by phone. "We can't stop shaking. For now we're stuck back here not knowing."
Ambulances and police vehicles were lined up at the nearby intersection and police told people via Twitter to stay away from the shooting scene because it was not secure.
Out first look outside the shooting scene in Colorado Springs pic.twitter.com/UDujDtG6kx
— Justin Beach (@JustinBDenver7) November 27, 2015
Mike Pelosi, who works at a deli at a nearby grocery store, said he heard over the store's loudspeaker just before noon that nobody could leave the store.
Pelosi said customers and store employees were confused about what was going on but not panicked. He said a couple dozen customers were standing near the store entrance waiting for instructions.
"It's not usually a busy day for us, and no one is panicking or anything," Pelosi said. "But they haven't told us anything except that we're not allowed to go outside."
The Planned Parenthood is located in a building next to a building that houses several medical offices. The strip mall with the grocery store was located less than a half-mile away and police shut down the road they are located on.
For updates, follow Scripps Station KMGH on Twitter @DenverChannel.
