At least three police officers and multiple civilians have been injured in an ongoing active shooter situation at or near a Colorado Springs branch of Planned Parenthood on Friday afternoon.
"We have confirmed that we have three officers that are injured. There are unknown number of civilians who have been injured," Police Lt. Catherine Buckley said. "The situation is still unstable, and the shooter is not contained."
At a news conference at about 1:30 on Friday afternoon, Buckley said police cannot confirm where the shooter is located and said the situation is "very active." She said officers don't yet know for sure whether there was a single shooter or multiple gunmen.
She said police have "brought all of our resources to bear" to the situation.
Earlier, Colorado Springs police Commander Kirk Wilson told media at the scene that police were still trying to get officers to the shooting area.
"We haven't been able to get in the scene yet," he said.
The city's fire department tweeted about the situation about 11:45 a.m. Buckley said the original call for service was at the Planned Parenthood address.The branch is located at 3480 Centennial Blvd., just north of West Fillmore Street.
"The area is NOT secure," police said in a tweet.
"We were looking out the window and we had an officer wave us back inside," said Brigitte Wolfe, who works at Jun Japanese Restaurant next door. "They have everything blocked off."
Wolfe said there are roughly a dozen police vehicles at the scene. She said officers have guns drawn and are facing the Planned Parenthood branch.
A photo from the scene showed officers in the area hiding behind their vehicles with their weapons drawn. SWAT officers have been called to the scene.
Cathy Alderman, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said the situation was fluid and the organization had little information to go on.
"We're monitoring the situation live like everyone else," she said. "Obviously the safety of our patients and staff is our greatest concern. We're hoping for the best."
Alderman was not sure yet if everyone associated with the clinic was safe.
"We believe people are sheltered in place, but we don't know all that for sure yet." she said.
Colorado Springs police have shut down Centennial Boulevard between Garden of the Gods Road and Fillmore Street. Some businesses in the area are being evacuated. Patrons and workers at a nearby shopping center have been told to shelter in place.
An employee who answered the phone at a nearby King Soopers said a few dozen customers were locked inside under police orders, but she had not seen a shooter or any other violence across the parking lot from the Planned Parenthood building.
(Jordan Steffen, The Denver Post)
"Everybody here is safe," she said, declining to give her name. "That's all I know, but I'm in the back right now."
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
Staff writer Joey Bunch contributed to this report.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul