6 dead, 5 officers wounded in shootout in Aurora, Ill.
AURORA, Ill. —An employee of a manufacturing company opened fire in its suburban Chicago plant Friday, killing five people and wounding five police officers before he was fatally shot, police said.
Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman identified the gunman as 45-yearold Gary Martin and said he was believed to be an employee at the Henry Pratt Co. — which makes valves for industrial purposes — in the city about 40 miles west of Chicago. She told a news conference that officers arrived within four minutes of receiving reports of the shooting and were fired upon as soon as they entered the 29,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse.
Police said they did not know the gunman’s motive.
“May God bless the brave law enforcement officers who continue to run toward danger,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at the news conference.
Hospitals reported treating at least seven patients from the shooting, though their conditions weren’t released. Two of the officers were airlifted to trauma centers in Chicago, Ziman said. She said a sixth officer suffered a knee injury. Officials did not say the total number of people injured, including police and civilians.
Dozens of first responder vehicles converged on the building housing the company after police received multiple calls about an active shooter at 1:24 p.m. CST.
Several ATF teams responded to the shooting and were at the scene, according to the agency’s Chicago spokeswoman, and the FBI said it also responded.
John Probst, an employee at Henry Pratt Co., told ABC7 that he ran out of the back door as the shooting unfolded Friday afternoon. Probst says he recognized the gunman and that he works for the company.
“What I saw was the guy running down the aisle with a pistol with a laser on it,” Probst said.