Fort Collins police are investigating a shooting west of Colorado State University's campus Thursday that left three people dead.
Authorities described the incident at 720 City Park Ave. as a homicide investigation. When they arrived on scene, they found four people with gunshot wounds.
Three people died and one person was injured in the early morning shooting. The suspect is among the deceased, according to Fort Collins Police Services.
Police believe the suspect knew at least one of the victims.
One of the deceased victims was a CSU student, and her family has been notified, according to CSU. The other three people were not affiliated with CSU, according to a Fort Collins Police Services news release.
Police spokesman Matt Johnson emphasized that police do not believe there is any ongoing threat to community safety related to this incident.
The investigation is ongoing, and police anticipate being on scene "for an extended amount of time."
Brooke Ehlers lives in a nearby apartment and said she was up late studying when she heard multiple gunshots and the sound of a woman screaming just before 2 a.m. She called 911 and said that within minutes, police vehicles were swarming the area.
Emergency communications indicate a 911 call came in around 1:58 a.m. to report the shooting.
Colorado State University police first alerted campus to the shooting about 2:35 a.m. The alert provided a description of a suspect and warned people nearby to stay inside.
They posted subsequent updates at 3:08 and 4:05 a.m, which both warned that a suspect was still at large.
CSU police issued an "all clear" at 4:50 a.m, following a tweet from Fort Collins police.
Throughout Thursday morning, police had a large portion of the apartment parking lot blocked off with crime scene tape. Police officers stood watch around the blocked off area as neighbors watched from their balconies.
Jessica Sanow-Smith, a CSU graduate student, lives across the street from the scene. She said she was asleep at the time of the shooting but her husband, Luke Smith, heard multiple gunshots in the early morning hours and checked to make sure their doors were locked.
"I just woke up and had text messages from friends like, 'You live there. Are you OK?' And then I saw a bunch of emails on my phone (from CSU)."
Sanow-Smith, who lives across the street from the apartment complex, said her husband thought the shots were fireworks at first because there are often fireworks in the area.
Lief Youngs, a resident of the apartment complex where the shooting took place, said he slept through the incident, but his roommate woke him up around 4 a.m. to tell him about it.
He said residents who had cars parked inside the crime scene tape were not able to move their vehicles. People who live inside the taped-off area had to leave their homes through back doors to avoid the crime scene or have a police officer escort them to and from their front doors, he said.
Further information about the shooting was not immediately available.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Fort Collins Police Services at 970-419-3273 (FCPD).
CSU issued a campus email Thursday afternoon with information about the shooting and resources for the campus community.
"We are deeply saddened by this terrible loss to our campus community and will share more information as we have it," the statement said in part.
A team of counselors will be available for walk-in support at the Lory Student Center Cherokee Park Room 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today. Additionally, students can reach CSU Health Network Counseling Services at 970-491-6053; faculty and staff can get support through the Employee Assistance Program at 970-491-1527 or ComPsych Guidance Resources at 1-800-497-9133. If you are concerned about a student or employee, please Tell Someone at 970-491-1350 or supportandsafety.colostate.edu/tellsomeone.
