Workplace Shooter Identified As 45-Year-Old Employee Gary Martin Of Aurora

CHICAGO (CBS)--The mass shooter who killed five people at the Henry Pratt company in Aurora Friday afternoon was identified as 45-year-old employee Gary Martin, Aurora police said during a news conference Friday evening.

Martin worked at the company for 15 years and was being terminated on Friday, according to Police Chief Kristen Ziman. Martin was convicted in February 1995 on an aggravated assault offense in Marshall, County in Mississippi. Ziman said he was armed with a handgun on Friday.

Information about the victims is still unknown. Police are planning to hold another press conference at 9 p.m. Friday to release new details on the tragic events that unfolded today.

Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said the gunman, who was killed, either by police gunfire or a self-inflicted wound, exchanged bullets with officers who stormed the 29,000 square-foot building at 641 Archer Ave. around 1:30 p.m. Feb. 15.

The gunman opened fire on the officers as soon as they entered the building, Ziman said. Five officers were struck by gunfire and were taken to local hospitals. Two of those officers were airlifted to trauma centers. A sixth officer was being treated for a knee injury, she said.

Visibly shaken, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said there were few words to describe the kind of evil that unfolded today.

"In the state you were elected to lead, in the state you were elected to protect, there is no way to prepare," Pritzker said. "There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams and their futures."