Four people, including an armed suspect, died after an hours-long police standoff Saturday at a Colorado townhome, authorities said.

Neighborhood of a hostage situation in Aurora, Colorado
Neighborhood of a hostage situation in Aurora, Colorado (KMGH TV)
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Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said a SWAT team was called after gunshots were heard at the Aurora, Colo., home at about 3 a.m. Investigators said three victims, all of them adults, appeared to have been killed before officers arrived.

Aurora  is the Denver suburb where gunman James Holmes killed 12 people inside a movie theater.

Carlson said the suspect shot at officers at about 8:15 a.m. and was killed during a gunfight about 45 minutes later when police entered the home. It remained unclear if officers shot the suspect or if he shot himself.

A motive for the killings also was unknown.

"We're just getting in there with our crime scene detectives, so obviously we'll have to determine if it was our rounds or his rounds," Carlson said. "This is a big investigation, and a lot is entailed."

A fifth person escaped uninjured before officers arrived and reported that she saw three people inside the home who "appeared lifeless," Carlson said. The sergeant declined to elaborate about the woman's escape.

Police declined to release the name of the suspect or the victims. The three were all related to the gunman reports KMGH TV.

Police tried to negotiate with the gunman via telephone but he was unintelligible during their conversations according to The Denver Post.



The Associated Press contributed to this story

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