3 People Shot, 1 Fatally, at Westerly, Rhode Island, Housing Complex

The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to an official briefed on the investigation.

The Westerly Police Department said the shooting occurred at Babcock Village, a housing complex that offers affordable housing for older adults and people with disabilities.

The complex’s owner, Affordable Housing Strategies Inc., and manager, Property Advisory Group, said in a joint statement that they were “shocked and saddened that this tragedy has occurred.”

“Our foremost priority is the safety of our residents and staff,” the statement said. “We are working with law enforcement to address this situation, and further questions should be referred to the Westerly Police and Rhode Island State Police.”

Local schools were locked down for about two hours, according to a post on the Facebook page of Westerly Public Schools.

Residents of Westerly, a waterfront town on the south shore of Rhode Island, near the Connecticut border, reported a heavy police presence after the shooting, including armored trucks and helicopters.

The Connecticut State Police dispatched troopers along the border and in the town of Stonington, Connecticut, which sits next to Westerly, to help with the investigation, a spokeswoman said.

The Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives tweeted that special agents from the bureau’s Providence office were on the scene to help local police.

Rep. David Cicilline, who represents the nearby 1st District of Rhode Island, tweeted that he was “closely monitoring the situation in Westerly.”

A nearby church was locked down.

Jacquelyn Smith, an administrator at Christ Episcopal Church, about 1 mile from the shooting, said the church had been locked down after the shooting. Seven people were there at the time.

“We immediately sprang into action,” Smith said. “We locked all of the doors, and we gathered in the church together.”

As they waited for an all-clear from authorities, they alerted neighbors, friends and relatives about the shooting, she added.

“We’re all as concerned about ourselves as we are our community and the people in it,” she said.

The complex is ‘normally quiet.’

Town Councilor Karen Cioffi said Babcock Village, where the shooting occurred, is a “normally quiet” public housing complex on Cross Street, about eight blocks from her home.

“I have been here 26 years, and I’ve never heard of an active shooter,” Cioffi said. “We train for it all the time, but this is probably a first for us. It’s shocking.”

Deborah Diehl, a resident at the complex, said she came out of her apartment after she heard a “commotion” in the lobby. She peered out of a window that looks down onto the lobby and saw a woman, one of the residents, covered in blood.

“There is yellow tape everywhere,” said Diehl, 64, who has lived in the building for 12 years. She said police had ordered residents to stay inside their apartments.

Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island said in a statement that she was “closely monitoring the situation.”

“I stand with the people of Westerly and all Rhode Islanders in coming together to support the victims and their families during this difficult time,” she said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .