CBS NEWS
Four people are dead from gunshot wounds in Longmont, Colo. after what police are calling a triple murder-suicide
Four people were found dead Tuesday in Colorado after a woman called
police to report a shooting and was apparently shot to death while she
was on the phone.
Weld County sheriff's spokesman Tim
Schwartz says dispatchers heard the woman who called 911 scream "No, no,
no," and then they heard a gunshot. Schwartz says a man grabbed the
phone and said he was going to kill himself, and dispatchers heard
another shot.
The bodies were found in a home in a subdivision east of Longmont, which is about 35 miles north of Denver.
The dead included two men and two women, including one who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s.
Schwartz says investigators have a possible motive for the shootings, but he refused to release details.
Schwartz
said he didn't think anyone escaped alive. He did not know whether all
four of the people lived in the home, and he was not sure whether there
had been any previous calls to police asking for help.
A
handgun believed to be murder weapon was recovered. Police said numerous
rounds had been fired from the gun, but further details were not
available. Police said they are convinced the gunman was one of the
victims.
A neighbor, Joyce Vibbert, said she heard three
gunshots early Tuesday and got up to look out her bedroom window. She
said she couldn't see anything, but she heard a woman screaming.
"It was just screaming. I couldn't hear what she was saying. It was just screaming," she said.
Desirae
Swazoe said she awoke shortly after 4 a.m. and heard a voice shouting
over and over, "Weld County Sheriff's Department! Open the back door! Do
it now!"
Kathy Tubb said she heard what she thought were gunshots about 4 a.m. Tuesday and had no idea what was happening.
Tubb
said when she went outside to warm up her husband's car to go to work,
she saw a policeman wearing a helmet and armed with a rifle standing in
the street.
Fearing there might be a gunman still on the
loose, she thought, "Oh my God, how can I get back in the house before
he starts shooting." She said waited until the officer left before she
felt safe.
On Tuesday, the home with a well-groomed yard
still had Christmas lights shining. A sheriff's department command post
bus was parked outside.
Authorities sought a search warrant to before continuing their investigation.
CBS Denver helicopter video
after daybreak on Tuesday showed crime scene tape surrounding the home
where the alleged murder-suicide took place. Christmas lights adorning
the home were still illuminated, and there was a wreath hanging on the
front of the home.