Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Five people were killed and three injured in a series of shootings that began in the Denver area and ended later in the suburb of Lakewood, authorities said.
Police said the shootings began when the gunman killed two women and injured a man just before 6 p.m. Monday in Denver. The gunman fatally shot another man a few blocks away.
With police in pursuit, the gunman ended up in the suburb of Lakewood, where he shot another man dead at a business there.
The gunman later shot two more people, a hotel clerk and a Lakewood police officer, before he was confronted by authorities. Officials said the gunman died of a gunshot wound, but it wasn't immediately clear if police shot him.
"We believe this individual was responsible for this very violent series of events that took place in the Denver metro area," Denver police Chief Paul Pazen said, according to the Denver Post.
"We need to really dig and find out what the motivation behind this was."
The shooter was not identified at the initial police news conference.
The Lakewood police officer was hospitalized and underwent surgery late Monday. His condition, and the conditions of the other wounded victims, wasn't clear as of early Tuesday.
The names of the dead also have not been announced.
