911 caller at Aurora shooting: 'Please send somebody ASAP'
Aurora police on Monday released dramatic audio of 911 calls made during the Feb. 15 mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora.
Five employees were killed and five police officers were injured by a gunman in the 29,000-square-foot facility at 641 Archer Ave. The shooter started firing a Smith & Wesson handgun either during or shortly after an afternoon meeting in which he was being terminated from a job he held for 15 years.
He eventually was killed in a shootout with police.
In one of the emotional calls, a breathless man inside the warehouse tells a calm dispatcher an employee was being fired when the shooting began. He said the gunman was still inside the warehouse.
"Where are you at, sir?" the dispatcher says.
"Inside the warehouse - hiding," the man says.
When asked if the gunman hit anyone, the man says, "I heard shots. I don't know if anybody is hurt."
As the dispatcher asks questions to determine where the shooter is located, the caller hears more gunfire.
"There's still more fire shots," he says. "Please send somebody ASAP."
"They're already on the way," the dispatcher tells the caller. "I want you to stay on the phone with me, OK? Do not hang up."
The caller tells the dispatcher that the gunman was talking to the manager before the shooting. He says he didn't see the manager after hearing shots fired.
"I have not seen anybody," says the caller, who is hiding behind a pallet.
Less than a minute later, the dispatcher tells the caller officers are at the scene. But she says the warehouse isn't secure.
"This guy is not in custody," the dispatcher tells the man. "Nobody moves any further, OK? Do not give him a target. Nobody moves.
"If you have contact with any other employee there, you tell them nobody moves."
The caller says he's alone. Moments later, he says he hears gunfire.
"I hear shots fired," he says. "I hear shots fired."
"I got it," the dispatcher says. "We got three shots."
The audio ends with the dispatcher telling the caller she's putting him on hold. "Do not move," she says.
Th> 911 calls were made to Aurora's dispatch center as the events surrounding the tragedy unfolded.
Police posted more than eight minutes of audio from the 911 call on Facebook. They also posted the emergency radio traffic of the case, including radio dispatch, law enforcement response and rescue attempts made during the shooting.
"Thi> decision was not made carelessly as we understand the troubling nature of these calls," Aurora police said in the post, "but as a matter of public interest and our ongoing commitment to transparency within our community, we agree that you have a right to hear the courageous souls who helped us bring this horrible tragedy to a swift conclusion."
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