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At least one person was killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire in the lobby of a senior-living apartment building in Vancouver, Washington.
Officers responded to reports of an active shooter at the Smith Tower apartments at around 2:10 p.m. local time, Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp told reporters. The suspect, who lived in the building, retreated to his apartment where he barricaded himself inside for at least two hours.
Authorities spoke to the suspected shooter through a crisis negotiator as he barricaded himself in his apartment. The man eventually turned himself over to police without incident, Kapp said.
Another two people were taken to a hospital, NBC affiliate KGW in Portland, Oregon, reported. Kapp could not confirm the condition of the two people who were injured.
Austin Studebaker told KGW that he was at a convenience store across the street with his cousin when he saw "the most cop cars I've ever seen in my life swarm in."
"I saw them carry some kind of body, I'm not sure if they were alive or dead," he said. "I saw what seemed pretty clearly to be a red spot on their chest."
Smith Towers resident Johnny Moffett told KGW that the suspect, who was not identified by police or Moffett, brought in a suspicious looking case about five days earlier.
"We were sitting there and he brought in a case," Moffett said. "He said it was a pool...a pool stick carrying case or something. And then he started talking about this guy who was harassing him, so I kind of figured he had a gun."
Moffett said the suspected shooter never explained to him how he was being harassed.
"He’s a nice guy, he just doesn't like to be harassed and he was being harassed," Moffett said. "I guess he just decided he didn’t want to be harassed anymore."
Some residents of the apartment building were evacuated while others were told to shelter in place. A family reunification center set up at Vancouver's city hall building.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that they were on scene to assist local police.
Vancouver is a city on the north side of the Columbia River, just a few miles outside Portland, Oregon.
