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Multiple People Wounded in Illinois Shooting

CHICAGO — A gunman opened fire inside an industrial complex in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday afternoon, sending scores of law enforcement authorities swarming to the area and forcing schools to keep students inside. Multiple people were injured, a city spokesman said, including police officers.
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The Aurora Police Department said the gunman had been taken into custody.

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Several area hospitals were prepared to receive the injured, authorities said, though it was not yet clear how many people were injured. Video from a local television station’s helicopter showed a large police response outside what appeared to be a manufacturing or industrial facility. A local school district said it was sheltering students in place at the direction of law enforcement.

John Probst, a Henry Pratt employee who was in the building at the time of the shooting, told ABC 7 Chicago he recognized the gunman as a co-worker.

He said he saw the gunman “running down the aisle” with a pistol that had a green laser attached to it.

He saw one person who was shot and “was bleeding pretty bad.” He believed there were others who had been shot in the office. He said he and another co-worker ran out the back door, and heard more shots once he was outside.

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Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among those responding to the scene in Aurora, a city of about 200,000 residents about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago.

As dozens of firefighters and law enforcement officers could be seen filling a parking area beside the industrial building, political leaders began posting messages on social media offering sympathy and support.

“I am monitoring the shooting in Aurora and encourage all residents to follow the directives of their local law enforcement,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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