Five die in shootings in Chicago and Denver

CHICAGO/DENVER: A gunman shot a doctor to death outside a Chicago hospital yesterday before storming the facility and killing a pharmaceutical assistant and a police officer during an exchange of gunfire.

The shooter knew the doctor he shot outside Mercy Hospital, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said, describing the initial killing as an act of domestic violence.

The gunman, whose name has not been released, was the doctor’s exfiance, Chicago media outlets reported.

The shooting sent doctors and patients streaming out of the building, some with their hands up, as heavily armed police officers sought to secure the hospital.

After killing the doctor, the gunman fired at arriving police officers with a single handgun, Johnson said, then burst into the hospital. Officers followed him inside and they exchanged gunfire for several minutes. The gunman died in the exchange but it was not immediately clear if he shot himself or was struck by a police officer’s bullet, Johnson said.

Shortly afterwards in Denver, Colorado, a streetcorner shooting left one person dead and four in hospital with bullet wounds.

The survivors were initially reported to be in critical condition, but police later tweeted that the injuries were ‘‘believed to be nonlife threatening’’.

Investigators were seeking at least one suspect.

No further official details were immediately available about the circumstances of the shooting, which happened about 4pm (local time) in the lower downtown area of Denver known as LoDo, a district of hotels, restaurants and highrise apartments.

The Denver Post cited a witness as saying he saw a single gunman open fire with a pistol on a group of people, then get into his car and speed away.