A gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Colorado Springs church on Sunday, striking four people, the church’s pastor said.
A black-clad man armed with a rifle opened fire on worshippers inside a Colorado Springs, Colorado, megachurch Sunday afternoon, wounding several people, church and hospital officials reported.
The gunman was then shot to death, a minister said.
Rob Brendle, an associate pastor at New Life Church, said the attack took place after a late-morning service.
Amy Sufak, a spokeswoman for Penrose-St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, told CNN that several victims were taken to the hospital.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Rick Myers would confirm no details of the incident, calling it a “very dynamic situation right now.”
Lt. Lari Sevene, a spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, said the attack took place shortly after 1 p.m. and said possibly two or three people were wounded. She could not confirm the death of the gunman and referred further questions to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
But Brendle told CNN the gunman was dead.
New Life Church was founded by Rev. Ted Haggard in 1984.
Update: Other reports suggest that a suspect has been detained. Another report says that one gunman was shot, and a second possible gunman and a car full of explosives was being sought. No confirmation yet from Colorado Springs police or the El Paso Sheriff’s office on any of these reports. Obviously things are rather chaotic right now.
Update: Fox31 in Denver reports that “Police have confirmed that the shooter was killed, though they are not saying whether he was shot by police or died of a self-inflicted gunshot.” No one else is picking up this report yet, so it’s unclear whether it’s been confirmed.
