Four people including a gunman have been killed following a hostage-taking incident today in Aurora, Colorado - the town where a man shot dead 12 people and wounded 58 more at a movie theatre last July, Denver-area media have reported.
Police fired tear gas and entered the home after several hours of failed negotiations with the gunman, who had barricaded himself inside, and shot him dead, Kusa television reported. Inside they found three other people shot dead, media reports said.
The victims were believed to be related to the gunman, the Denver Post reported, citing Aurora police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson.
Police reached by telephone in Aurora offered no immediate information on the situation.
Police notified neighbours of an emergency around 3am (10am GMT) and evacuated several blocks, Ms Carlson told Kusa.
One person inside had escaped and alerted authorities, the broadcaster said.
The gunman fired on a police vehicle at about 8am, leading to an exchange of gunfire, KMGH television said. At that time police saw a lifeless body for the first time.
In the July incident, a gunman had opened fire during a midnight screening of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises.
The man charged in that shooting, neuroscience graduate James Holmes, goes to court tomorrow for a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors will lay out their case against him.
Reuters