Person shoots and kills himself at Evergreen health clinic after firing numerous shots, no victims found
A person fired multiple shots in an Evergreen strip mall late Thursday afternoon and then shot and killed himself when Colorado law enforcement arrived, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says.
The death happened at approximately 4:30 p.m. at a health clinic in the shopping area, which is located at the 32000 block of Ellingwood Trail near the intersection of Bergan Parkway and Evergreen Parkway. That's in the northern part of Evergreen.
No victims were found at the scene, but numerous bullet holes were found to have caused damage to walls and windows.
"We are very fortunate that none of the people in the care center were shot," the sheriff's office wrote in a Facebook post.
The shooter's age and identity haven't been determined yet. The person was male. Investigators are still looking into where he was before he came to the shopping plaza.
"It's a somber mood. You know, there's been a shooting in a community that there shouldn't be a shooting," said a man named Xavier who works at the clinic and didn't share his last name. He was home sick and learned about the situation from a group text with coworkers.
Xavier said he panicked when he saw the text message.
"I drove up here very, very fast to make sure that everybody in my clinic that I work with -- that is my family -- was okay and thank God ... they are all okay. I am glad to see their faces," he said.
The department said that buildings in the shopping plaza were evacuated due to the investigation.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene and helping with the investigation, according to the ATF, who shared on X that a K-9 team were there.
Evergreen Parkway, also known as Highway 74, was shut down due to the large police investigation for several hours.
The situation was initially described as an "active shooter incident" because it wasn't clear if anyone had been shot and numerous gunshots were heard by people in the area.
Last September there was an active shooting at Evergreen High School, which is located much closer to the community's downtown area. In that incident, a 16-year-old who was a student at the school severely wounded two classmates before shooting himself.
The health clinic, CommonSpirit Primary Care, released the following statement about Thursday's situation:
We are heartbroken that the Evergreen community, our patients, and our team members experienced another tragic shooting today. We are deeply aware that the community, including our own caregivers, are still trying to recover from the shooting tragedy at Evergreen High School five months ago.
We are working closely with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to learn more about the incident at the CommonSpirit Primary Care Evergreen clinic, and we are grateful that all of our team members and patients are safe, accounted for, and physically unharmed.
To all who are feeling the weight of this tragedy, we offer you our hearts and prayers. We encourage you to reach out to your loved ones, faith community or support network. Your well-being, your peace of mind, your safety, and your healing are essential.
The CommonSpirit Primary Care clinic will be closed on Friday while the investigation continues. Buchanan Park Recreation Center, which is located nearby, will also be closed.
Anyone with information about the shooting that they think might be helpful to the ongoing Jefferson County investigation is asked to contact the sheriff's office.
