At least five dead in Aurora, Illinois, workplace shooting: Here's what we know now
Ryan W. MillerAt least five people are dead including a gunman after a shooting at an industrial plant in Aurora, Illinois, authorities said Friday.
At least six police officers were also injured during the incident at the Henry Pratt Company plant, about 40 miles outside of Chicago.
The gunman, identified as 45-year-old Gary Martin, was shot and killed as well. Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said he is believed to be an employee of the company. She said detectives have not determined a motive yet.
Mayor Richard Irvin said the victims were "senselessly gunned down" and praised police officers who were wounded in the shooting and halted the massacre.
"You rushed toward danger, and in doing that you saved countless lives," Gov. J.B. Pritzker also said, thanking first responders.
Here's what we know now:
How many victims are there?
At least five people, including the gunman, are dead, Ziman told reporters Friday evening.
Five police officers were shot and a sixth suffered a knee injury, Ziman said.
At least seven patients from the shooting were being treated, hospitals said, though their conditions weren’t released, according to The Associated Press.
What happened?
Police received multiple calls from people inside the plant Friday afternoon and were in a gun battle within four minutes as they arrived at the Henry Pratt plant, Ziman said.
John Probst, a worker at the company, told ABC7 that there were about 30 workers in the open storage room when the gunman opened fire with a pistol.
"He was shooting everybody ... As soon as I heard the shot, we left. As soon as I heard it, I took off," Probst said.
He said one of the victims "came running down and was bleeding pretty bad."
What's Henry Pratt?
The Henry Pratt Company is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of valves for the potable water, wastewater, power generation and industrial markets. It’s a subsidiary of Mueller Water Products, Inc., a NYSE publicly traded company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1901.
The facility where the shooting occurred is a 29,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse, according to The Associated Press.
Has Trump been briefed?
Yes. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump is monitoring the situation, and the president later tweeted, praising first responders.
Contributing: Aamer Madhani and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY