Aurora standoff ends with suspect, 3 others dead

Last Updated 3:57 p.m. ET

AURORA, Colo. 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 Carson. 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 modest 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.

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[erasmus111]

MrPaulGeorge


Damn, you're stupid. You can list off all these places, but it means NOTHING. The places where these shootings happened, it wasn't normal for there to be any shootings. It was a shock. Which proves that it can happen ANYWHERE. Just because you don't have many shootings means nothing, because tomorrow there could be a massacre in your city. I can assure you there are mentally unstable people walking around in your wee little world.

You want to compare things properly, then you do it by looking up how many deaths per capita. I guarantee that you have more than us and Australia. You just see things the way you want to see them.

Now, the province I live in, there were 73 shootings between 2009 and and 2012. And guess what? Those guns were all smuggled in AMERICAN guns. If you guys didn't have guns, we probably wouldn't have any shootings.

"Last year where I live less than 60 people died statewide from gun homicides. 60."

Well, with my 73 over 3 years, I would say that I win for having less shootings.

[Type_Z]

Another example of evil: Sharia law

[Type_Z]

MODELOMAN Repost:
You keep coming up with these one off murder scenes trying to make some kind of ludicrous connection with gun shootings.
Maybe you are trying to say keep guns away from evil?
I think not your argument is a selfish one at the expense of respect for all 20 of those kids in newtown along with the thoisands of others killed by insane people with guns
do you have something to hide?

***
What I'm saying is:

Evil exists in some humans. History tells us evil people will commit crimes against others in different ways. Eliminating guns will not eliminate Evil or Evil acts.

That is all I said, stupid.

[erasmus111]

"Eliminating guns will not eliminate Evil or Evil acts."


No, but it sure as hell will cut down on the acts, BIG TIME.

No matter what anyone says, if guns were eliminated, the incidents would decrease. A good many people would not resort to any other weapon if the gun was not available. The reason they choose the gun is because it's so easy. You just stand and shoot. And it sometimes happens in the spur of the moment, without any thought.

The chances are, all the mass killings would not have happened, if there were no guns. Most people would not attempt it with a knife.

[erasmus111]

And if they did use a knife, I bet there would be way less deaths.

Take China. There was a man that attempted using a knife on the kids. They all LIVED.

[erasmus111]

MrPaulGeorge replies:
Fact is about 95% of the US has little to no gun crime at all. Most counties average about 1-2 gun homicides per year.


Wow, another dumb ass American.

You need to pull your head out of your ass and do some actual research instead of making it up as you go along.

When you've finished looking at this, perhaps you might want to look at the other things. Like maybe the mass shootings and the work shootings. And also, when you go to this particular link, take a look at the laws. Or should I say LACK of laws. Look at how many states have no laws for locking up guns. Look at how many states that don't require wait times or permits. Look at how many states allow CHILDREN of ANY age to have a gun, with a parents approval. And that's scary because there are so many lousy parents.

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/guns_in_america/html/framesource_map.html

[erasmus111]

"We don't hold the monopoly there."


I'm not so sure about that. I think per capita, there are more dumb ass Americans. : )

I think there are more Canadians living in REALITY.

[erasmus111]

winchester70


Most Canadians do not watch hockey.

You're our entertainment.

It's kinda like when you are driving down the street and there's this huge accident. Everyone has to stop and look.

You're the accident. One big mess.

We (along with the rest of the world)look at you and scratch our heads. We just can't figure out why you haven't straightened the mess out yet. Why you can't figure things out. We see the problems clearly, we just don't understand why you can't.

[AttyFAM]

MrPaulGeorge replies:
Most US states have far less gun crime than Canada does.
If there are only 40 murders per year in the average US state does it imply that Canada as a whole with 200 murders is a hideous violent place to live?
----------------------------

You are completely out of touch. Canada has almost no gun crime and what little it has arises from illegal guns smuggled from the USA into Canada. Any gun crime in Canada is the fault of America.

Go to http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html
and bring up the spreadsheet for homicides by firearms. You will see that in 2009:

Canada rate of homicides per 100,000: 0.5
USA rate of homicides per 100,000: 3.3

[AttyFAM]

I would certainly notice if 7 gunshots rang out. I would even notice if 1 gunshot rang out.

The point is, that because of the presence of guns in the USA as opposed to Canada, you would be 7x safer in Canada than in the USA. That is something Americans should be ashamed of.

[AttyFAM]

TimeToRetire replies:
AttyFAM wrote:
If there is no trigger for the human to pull, no one dies.
------------
Attyfam,
That is only true if you can guarantee the guns criminals get on the streets also have no triggers.
-----------------------------

I am not saying that we can clean up America in a few years. It will take time. We have poisoned our nation with an enormous production of powerful firearms for decades and decades. Any ban (partial or complete) on firearms will have to be retroactive and have a period of free compliance followed by steep penalties for continued possession. It will get some initial compliance, further compliance with periodic amnesty turn-ins, eventual reduction of weapons in the hands of criminals, and finally the elimination of ammunition will in the long run make the weapons useless.

Unlike Canada and Europe, we have not kept our home clean. Getting rid of the filth will take time.

[Ryterscope]

People can try to control and govern guns all they want, but it is not how we actually stop the real issue. Ifa criminal wants to find a way to get ahold of a gun they will. Then decent law-abiding citizens will not be able to protect themselves because then firearms will be illegal. Part of the definition of a criminal is that they will break laws. And also, people can make ammunition. People can build their own guns. Good luck with the elimination of ammunition. The other thing is that there are attacks where guns were't even used, though they produced a larger death toll than any shooting. Take a look at the box cutters, and knives, and planes that they used in the September 11th attacks. Were there guns there? Anyone that wants to get ahold of a weapon will. We can use thousands of things as weapons and it certainly doesn't have to be a gun. Owning a gun is in the Bill of Rights. This alone means it is a good idea. Our gun rights go away and then our government will keep stripping the whole Constitution down until we can do nothing to stop them. Several individuals in this country have lost some common sense and a sense of survival. What happened to people having a backbone and an awareness about real issues? We as a people are focused on the wrong things.

[AttyFAM]

Ryterscope replies:
If a criminal wants to find a way to get a hold of a gun they will.
-----------------------
That is only true because we have poisoned the country with them. Make them all illegal and in time, that will not be true.

==================================
Ryterscope replies:
Part of the definition of a criminal is that they will break laws.
----------------------
That is very naive. First of all, there are very few career criminals. And, second, most murderers are one time murderers. As one woman who works with convicts once told me, "Most murderers are not dangerous. They solved their problem." So a murderer is likely not to be a criminal until the murder is committed.

==========================================
Ryterscope replies:
And also, people can make ammunition.
--------------------------
Again, naive. Do you know anyone who does make ammo for a 223? Also, that is a lot of work. So the person doing so has to be very motivated.

But listen, if we throw up our hands like you are and say it is hopeless, the problem will never be solved. You have to make a start, even if the end of the clean-up takes decades.

[Gun_Totin_Texan]

For all of you suggesting a "mentally unstable" person not have access to a gun, those laws are already on the books. Just observe what unfolds as the definition of "mentally unstable" or "possibly a danger" widens and deepens to include all.

[modeloman]

nice try mr fundamentalist.
Its all or nothing,why bother trying anything anywhere...right? eh?

Your argument may hold more true for NRA members

[Type_Z]

Belle Gunness. Born in 1859, lived in LaPorte, Indiana. This woman had a candy store. She killed 2 husbands, 3 children and an estimated 40 suitors she lured to her farm. She used chloroform and strictnyne to kill her victims and mutilate them. She received life insurance money and robbed her victims. A brother of one victim went looking for his brother where he found the farm burned to the ground. She was never caught.

Evil has existed for how long??

[modeloman]

you keep coming up with these one off murder scenes trying to make some kind of ludicrous connection with gun shootings.
Maybe you are trying to say keep guns away from evil?
I think not
your argument is a selfish one at the expense of respect for all 20 of those kids in newtown along with the thoisands of others killed by insane people with guns
do you have something to hide?

[Donovan1661]

I will virtually guarantee that common to virtually ALL homicidal 'snaps' in the last decade that:

1. He has a recent history with a psychiatrist
2. He is on antidepressants / antipsychotics prescribed by the pseudo-physician psych.

And I hate to admit it, I agree with Midnight1978 -- these actions are not accidental or 'random' -- they are deliberately instigated.

[Type_Z]

I'm willing to add that most, if not all gave warnings, made threats. Columbine killers did. They all do.

[andie52]

It is reported that his wife managed to escape from the home as he opened fire on other relatives. According to one police source he was characterized to police at the scene as being mentally ill. Police are also investigating the possibility that Archuleta was using methamphetamines and he is said to have stayed up "four days straight" before the incident.

[Lwood51]

Anyone catch the story about the Georgia mom who defender her family from an intruder? Strange you can't find it on any network news site. Check it out here: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/my-wife-is-a-hero-georgia-mother-shoots-home-intruder-five-times-after-being-cornered/

[Type_Z]

Yes I saw it. Amazing story, there are other stories like it you hear about now and then.

[FormerDemocratNowSane]

Since he is not dead, hopefully he gets put in prison for a very long time. One would hope he is now a more reformed, and educated, criminal. Unfortunately, I would not be surprised to subsequently hear that the woman and her family are going to be sued by the intruder.