Gunfire Outside Colorado State Capitol Forces Brief Lockdown

The Colorado state Capitol in Denver was placed under a brief lockdown Thursday afternoon as police respond to shots fired near the government building.

The shooting occurred off Capitol grounds at a nearby park, Trooper Gary Cutler of the Colorado State Patrol told HuffPost. The CSP is in charge of security at the Capitol.

A spokesman for the Denver Police Department confirmed the shooting to HuffPost, but did not have further details immediately available. 

The lockdown at the Capitol was lifted shortly after 2 p.m. local time.

Witnesses told CBS 4 Denver that they saw a person pull a gun and fire at a car while walking on Colfax Avenue near the Capitol. That car reportedly returned fire.

There was a large police presence along Colfax Avenue and Sherman Street adjacent to the legislature building shortly after the shooting.

Scott Reed, assistant general manager of communications for Denver’s Regional Transportation District, told HuffPost the suspect may have attempted to flee the scene by boarding a nearby bus. Denver police held the bus at the scene to retrieve video footage of that moment, according to Reed.

Joshua Crews, 36, told The Denver Post  he heard about a dozen shots fired as he was waiting to get on the East Colfax Bus on Colfax Avenue and North Broadway Street. He then boarded the bus, which was later stopped by police. 

“The cops wanted to see everybody’s hands,” Crews told the Post. “There was a guy down... there was a shooter on the bus.”

Denver police said there was no longer any threat to the area after 2:30 p.m., but it was unclear whether police had taken the shooter into custody. 

Photos of the scene show police arresting at least one man at the intersection of Sherman and Colfax, near the Capitol.

The investigation is ongoing.