AP 4 dead after police standoff at a Colo. townhome Published - Jan 05 2013 04:07PM EST P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press
AURORA, Colo. (AP) — A gunman barricaded inside his Colorado home fired shots at police from a second-story window before he was killed as SWAT officers stormed the home Saturday. Once inside, they found the bodies of three other adults, authorities said.
The suspect, whose name was withheld by police, held officers at bay for nearly six hours after neighbors reported gunfire at 3 a.m. inside the modest townhome in the Denver suburb of Aurora, said police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson. It wasn't known if officers shot the suspect or if he shot himself.
Investigators said two men and a woman appeared to have been killed before officers arrived.
The suspect shot at police who approached the front of the home with an armored vehicle and who fired tear gas around 8:15 a.m. He was killed when he fired at officers from the second-story window about 45 minutes later, Carlson said.
"After we arrived on scene, there were no more shots fired up until he fired at us," Carlson said. "During this time he was all over the house. He moved furniture. He was throwing things. He was agitated. He was irrational."
A large front window was missing in the two-story townhome, the window's mini-blinds in disarray. Bullet holes marked two upstairs windows, and neighbors milled about outside.
A fifth person escaped unharmed and called police to report that she saw three people inside the home who "appeared lifeless," said Carlson, who declined to elaborate about the woman's escape.
A motive for the killings was unknown, and police had yet to say what weapon or weapons were used. Investigators wearing gloves and carrying evidence bags were going over the crime scene.
Police declined to release the victims' names.
"We have an idea of who they are, but we obviously want to confirm their identities with the coroner," said Carlson, who declined to release the relationship between the victims and the shooter.
Officers evacuated neighbors' homes during the standoff and used a bullhorn to communicate with the gunman, urging him to surrender.
Next-door neighbor Melissa Wright, a nurse who treated victims of the July movie theater shootings in Aurora, said she was in her second-floor bedroom when she saw the gunman start shooting from his own bedroom window. She said she didn't know what he was shooting at, and that she quickly dropped to the floor.
"I hit the ground pretty fast," Wright said.
Wright said she slid on her belly to the first floor of her home and told police what she saw upstairs. Officers quickly entered her home.
Wright said she knew the gunman as Sonny Archuleta — a name used by police officers trying to negotiate with the man with the bullhorn. Wright said the townhome may have been inhabited by the gunman, the gunman's wife, her father and another man.
The shootings occurred about four miles southeast of the Aurora Mall, where 12 people were killed and dozens were wounded by a gunman at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20. The man charged in that shooting, James Holmes, goes to court Monday for a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors will present their case against him.
The July shootings prompted Gov. John Hickenlooper — just before the Newtown, Conn., massacre — to say it is time to debate gun control. It's expected to be a heated topic at the Colorado Legislature this year.
Aurora, just east of Denver, is one of Colorado's largest and most diverse cities with more than 335,000 residents. It is home to Buckley Air Force Base as well as the sprawling University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus, where James Holmes studied neuroscience before the movie theater shootings.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
But one clue might be connected this latest tragedy. On September 5th of last year, Archuleta tweeted about the murder of his brother, Pat, who was shot and killed at a local restaurant in Denver on September 3, 2012. It seems that gun violence affected Archuleta’s life last year and could explain why a seemingly normal person may have committed the crime of which he is suspected.
Sonny Archuleta has a criminal past including 2012 misdemeanor arrests for a fugitive warrant out of Aurora for reckless endangerment, in Denver for carrying a concealed weapon, and another in Denver for prohibited use of a weapon.
But one clue might be connected this latest tragedy. On September 5th of last year, Archuleta tweeted about the murder of his brother, Pat, who was shot and killed at a local restaurant in Denver on September 3, 2012. It seems that gun violence affected Archuleta’s life last year and could explain why a seemingly normal person may have committed the crime of which he is suspected.
Sonny Archuleta has a criminal past including 2012 misdemeanor arrests for a fugitive warrant out of Aurora for reckless endangerment, in Denver for carrying a concealed weapon, and another in Denver for prohibited use of a weapon.
Stacie Philbrook, Anthony Ticali identified as two murdered by Sonny Archuleta in Aurora shooting
A gunman barricaded himself inside a townhouse after killing three people in the home was shot to death by police on Saturday in Aurora, Colorado.
Police pumped tear gas into the home in an attempt to get the gunman to leave, and then went into the home and shot him, ABC News Denver affiliate KMGH-TV reported.
Family members have identified two of the victims inside the home as Stacie Philbrook and her step-father, Anthony Ticali. It is believed Philbrook’s boyfriend was the third victim, he has not been identified. The three people found dead in the home are believed to be relatives of the shooter, Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson told KMGH. A fourth person was found unharmed, she said. That is Stephanie Philbrook Archuleta, who claimed her husband Sonny Archuleta, was still inside. She said he was armed and had fired shots inside the home. Officers responded to the home after the first reports of gunshots came in around 3 a.m.
A hostage-negotiation team called to the scene had sought to talk the suspect into surrendering for about five hours before police moved to shoot tear gas into the home at about 8:00 a.m.
About an hour later, the gunman began firing at police again from a second-floor window, and police returned fire, killing the suspect, according to a police statement following the incident. No police were wounded.
This is the same Denver suburb where 12 people were slain in a movie house massacre last July.
Sonny's wife Stephanie Philbrook Archuleta on facebook:
Logged
