2 dead, 5 hurt in Denver shooting rampage
Associated Press--A gunman burst into a sprawling Safeway Inc. warehouse, killing one person, wounding five others and sending terrified workers fleeing the building. The attacker was later killed in a shootout with police.
Several fires also were set inside the distribution center Sunday a few miles northeast of downtown along the busy Interstate 70, authorities said. Police Chief Gerry Whitman said more than 150 employees were forced to evacuate — including Raymond Rivas, who had recently moved from California to what he believed would be a safer place. "I can't imagine this happening out here," said Rivas. "It could happen anywhere."
Police received several 911 calls reporting the shooting by 3:12 p.m. About an hour after entering the warehouse, officers confronted the suspect, who then shot 38-year-old SWAT officer Derick Dominguez with a handgun in the left hip, Whitman said. Dominguez also suffered a broken leg.
An officer then shot and killed the suspect, Whitman said. As officers swept through the 1.3 million-square-foot center, they later found another victim who was dead. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said at least one 911 caller named employee Michael Ford as being involved in the shootings, but police did not immediately confirm the gunman's identity.
A Safeway spokesman, Jeff Stroh, said Ford worked filling orders in the produce department and was employed at the center for more than a year. Whitman said there was no reason to believe there was more than one suspect, though the investigation was expected to continue Monday.
By late Sunday, two victims were in critical condition, two others, including Dominguez, were in serious condition, and one had been released from Denver Health Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Benny Samuels said. Safeway worker Jesus Lopez told KMGH-TV he was about 20 feet away from the gunman. "He was just shooting and lighting fires. He wanted to turn the building on fire," Lopez told KMGH. "I just ran. Everybody just ran out."
Stroh said he believed parts of the warehouse would reopen Monday and that store officials had contacted grief counselors for employees. The company planned to evaluate its safety policies, he said. "Whenever workplace violence occurs, you really have to take a step back and look at what you're doing," Stroh said.
Gunman Shoots 2 People Inside K-Mart SuperCenter
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- An apparent shoplifting incident gone bad inside a Super K-Mart ended with a shooting that injured two people Sunday night, 7NEWS reported. The suspect then ran to a nearby apartment complex and remains at large.
Police and SWAT teams are fanning out in the Englewood and Littleton neighborhood, looking for the gunman. A police helicopter is also helping in the search.
The shooting occurred inside the K-Mart Super Center at Belleview and Broadway shortly after 8 p.m. One victim was shot in the chest. The other victim was shot in the lower back. One witness told 7NEWS that a female security guard was shot and killed but that has not been officially confirmed by police. The other victim was said to have tried and stop the shoplifter.
"It sounded like black cats (fireworks.) It's the Fourth of July, the first thing that popped into my head was black cats (fireworks). I didn't think nothing about no guns ... I thought somebody was trying to play a joke and then I saw her fall and I went over and tried to help her out. So, some scary stuff," witness Victor Leija told 7NEWS.
Police are looking for a black man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, last seen wearing a brown jacket and checkered shirt.
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