Witnesses describe terrifying scene during Colorado Springs rampage
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Witnesses on Sunday described a terrifying scene on the streets of Colorado Springs, where a gunman armed with a rifle marched down a city street and shot and killed three people before being fatally shot in a gun battle with police.
Authorities have released few details about Saturday morning's shooting in broad daylight. The suspect and victims have not been identified, and police are looking for a motive.
A neighbor, Teresa Willingham, said she and her 7-year-old son heard three loud gunshots and saw a bicyclist lying face down in the street, his legs mangled and still intertwined in his bike.
"His last words were 'Please God, no,'" she said. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
A neighbor, Naomi Bettis, who lives across the street, said she saw a man in a green jacket with a rifle, walking down the street. She saw him go into a house, and come out with a gun. She said the man headed down the block, and a bicyclist came up.
Bettis said the bicyclist begged for his life, but the gunman started shooting.
Bettis said the bicyclist collapsed outside a house. She later placed a bouquet of flowers, a candle and a note where the bicyclist was slain, saying "My thoughts are with you. Praying for the family. I'm sorry for your loss."
After the first shooting, the gunman took off running, and according to witnesses who talked to CBS affiliate KKTV, he just began shooting at anyone in his way, hitting a few.
One of those witnesses, Matt Abshire, said: "I looked out my kitchen window and I saw a man in a green jacket firing an AR-15...waited a few seconds, went out of my house, looked to my left and saw a man down the street, probably 50 feet. I started following him and I called the cops."
Abshire said he tailed the suspect while calling 911.
"Still following him, he's heading left on Platte towards Palmer High School...probably a hundred yards past El Paso Street he stops, turns to his left, fires four shots, shoots two ladies, one in the jaw, one in the chest if I'm not mistaken," Abshire said.
Abshire said one of the victims was dead by the time he got to her, and that police encountered the gunman moments later outside a Wendy's.
Aaron Nicks and dozens of other people in downtown Colorado Springs watched in horror as police exchanged gunfire with the suspect.
"I was just sitting on my patio taking my dog out when I saw someone come around the corner, being chased by the police," he told KKTV.
Police say they spotted the gunman several blocks away, where a shootout erupted. Photos show a window in the back of a police car that had been shattered by gunfire. Police on Sunday asked residents to help them look for damage to homes and property that might provide more evidence.
Alisha Jaynes told KKTV she was at an ATM when she saw a man with a gun walking calmly down the street.
"They yelled, 'Put the gun down,' and he turned around, and that's when they shot at him a good 20 times," she said. "There was a lot of gunfire."
More than 50 people gathered for a candlelight vigil near the scene of the shooting Sunday night. Benjamin Broadbent, lead minister of the First Congregational Church of Colorado Springs urged the group to have compassion, even for the family of the gunman.
Two of the victims were residents of the sober living home and were killed while sitting together on the porch.
Those who knew them said they were working hard to improve their lives. The shooting has left the other women living in the home shaken, said Adrieanna Waldridge, the roommate of one of the victims.
"We were going to be each other's sober buddies," she said. "It feels like a part of me is missing."