Colorado gunman in custody after police standoff

At least 11 people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at a family planning center in Colorado in a standoff that dragged on for five hours Friday before he surrendered.

There were no known fatalities but five police officers were among the wounded, police and officials in Colorado Springs said, in the latest incident to shed a damning light on America's gun culture.

"The perpetrator is in custody. The situation has been resolved and there's no continuing peril to the citizens of Colorado Springs," said Mayor John Suthers.

Colorado Springs Fire Chief Chris Riley said that 11 people had been taken to hospital, five of them police officers.

It was not immediately clear if the family planning center had been specifically targeted.

Abortion is one of the services provided for women by Planned Parenthood and the association has become an lightning rod for criticism by social conservatives.

Earlier, there had been fears that the unidentified gunman might have explosives with him, and police were carefully combing the scene after the siege came to an end when he surrendered.

Speaking at the scene before the standoff ended, police spokeswoman Lieutenant Catherine Buckley warned that the gunman had taken "items" and bags inside the building with him.

"Numerous" people had been evacuated from the clinic as the incident played out, but some were left inside with him, she had said, on what had been a regular working day at Planned Parenthood, a day after the Thanksgiving holiday.

A sheriff's department SWAT team with at least one armored vehicle and several ambulances had also been on standby, as the evening drew in on the snowy scene. The immediate vicinity was placed on lockdown and people were told to stay indoors.

Buckley said the shooter was armed with some kind of "long weapon" with a shoulder stock such as a rifle and some witnesses reported hearing automatic fire.

- Specific target? -

Quan Hoang, the owner of a nearby nail salon, told CNN that when he heard the gunfire break out, he feared a robbery was underway at a bank in the shopping area.

"And we see cops, SWAT, the bomb squad, a whole bunch of people just trying to take cover around the Planned Parenthood area," he said by telephone.

"An officer came back in and said, 'Is everyone safe?' We asked him questions and he said they've barricaded him inside the Planned Parenthood and he was shooting out from the windows."

A White House official said that President Barack Obama had been notified of the incident by his Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco.

Earlier, Colorado Springs police had warned residents to steer clear of the area, tweeting: "Responding to call of active shooter... the area is NOT secure."

Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, called it a "tragic situation."

"Our top priority is the safety of our patients and staff," she said in a statement, before the gunman surrendered.

"Planned Parenthood has strong security measures in place, works closely with law enforcement agencies, and has a very strong safety record.

"We don't yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action, and we don't yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack."
Source: AFP