Two civilians and a police officer have been killed by a guman who stormed a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic with a rifle.
A member of the Colorado Springs sheriff's department secures the scene during an active shooter situation near a Planned Parenthood facility. Photo: AFP
Police arrested a gunman who stormed the clinic on Friday (local time) and opened fire with a rifle in an attack that left three people dead and nine others injured, authorities said.
The dead included two civilians and 44-year-old police officer Garrett Swasey.
All nine surviving victims - five police officers and four civilians - were listed in good condition at area hospitals.
The suspect first engaged in a protracted gun battle with police but ultimately surrendered to officers inside the building about five hours after the start of the violence, which played out under a steady snowfall in Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city.
A photographer at the scene saw a man in a white T-shirt, with his hands cuffed behind his back, being taken out of an armored police vehicle and placed in an unmarked squad car. Authorities said they did not know the suspect's identity but believed he acted alone.
The slain lawman was a campus police officer for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs who joined city police in responding to the first reports of shots fired, authorities said.
The national non-profit group, devoted to providing a range of reproductive health services, including abortions, has come under renewed pressure in recent months from conservatives in Congress seeking to cut off federal support for the organization.
Checking for explosives
Police spokeswoman Lieutenant Catherine Buckley said it took officers a number of hours to establish communication with the suspect before he gave himself up.
"We did get officers inside the building. They were able to shout to the suspect and make communication with him and at that point they were able to get him to surrender and he was taken into custody."
Hostages are escorted to safety during an active shooter situation outside a Planned Parenthood facility Photo: AFP
An hour earlier, police said progress in securing the building was slowed by the fact that the gunman brought "some bags" with him into the clinic and left several items outside, all of which needed to be checked for possible booby traps or explosives.
After the arrest, Ms Buckley said it would take hours more, and perhaps days, for investigators to fully process the crime scene.
Police swarmed the area around the building after an emergency call reporting shots fired at about 11.30 am (local time) and officers ultimately confronted the suspect inside the building.
Television footage aired by CNN showed a number of clinic staff and patients being escorted safely into police vehicles from the building, which lies on the northwest side of Colorado Springs, about 112 kilometres south of Denver.
The FBI and agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting local law enforcement investigators.
- Reuters