Aurora shooting: at least five people killed in Illinois warehouse

At least five people were killed in a shooting in Aurora, Illinois, which led to local schools being placed on lockdown, the town’s police chief said on Friday.

Five officers were wounded at the shooting at the Henry Pratt Co warehouse, the police chief Kristen Ziman told reporters. A sixth officer suffered a knee injury.

The officers were immediately fired upon arriving at the scene, Ziman added.

The shooter was identified by his sister as 45-year-old Gary Martin.

Martin was shot and killed, Ziman said. Police believe Martin was an employee at the business, which makes valves for industrial purposes in the city about 40 miles (65 km) west of Chicago. Police said they did not know Martin’s motives.

Witness John Probst told CNN that he saw the gunman, a coworker, running down an aisle of the manufacturing facility with a pistol equipped with a laser sight. Probst told the network that he saw people bleeding.

“It’s a shame that mass shootings like this have become commonplace,” said the Aurora mayor, Richard Irvin, at a press conference Friday evening. “We as a society cannot allow these horrific acts to become commonplace.”

The Illinois governor JB Pritzker paid tribute to the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting, saying, “You rushed toward danger, and in doing that you saved countless lives.”

Of the families of the victims, he said, “They join a group that should not exist and yet continues to grow”.

Schools had been placed placed in “soft lockdown” early on Friday afternoon, after the shooting was reported at a local business.

Donald Trump praised law enforcement’s response in a tweet Friday afternoon and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

(THE GUARDIAN)