YUMA, Ariz. -- Yuma police say five people have been killed in a shooting that has forced authorities to close schools and the courthouse.
Details about the shooter and victims were not immediately clear.
Yuma police Sgt. Clint Norred tells The Associated Press that five people were killed in the Yuma area. It's unclear if there were others who were injured.
Norred says police originally responded to a shooting call around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
The Yuma Sun reports the Yuma County Courthouse and schools in the area have been placed on lockdown.
YUMA, AZ (KOLD) - Yuma police say five people have been killed in a series of shootings that has forced authorities to close schools and the courthouse.
The Yuma Sun reports four of the five fatal shootings took place out of the county, while a fifth person was killed in Yuma.
Yuma Police responded to where the shooting was reported-- in the 400 Block of Second Avenue at about 9:21 a.m. Attorneys told the Yuma Sun on of their colleagues Jerrold Shelley was killed.
Nearby schools and the courthouse are on lockdown, according to reports.
Yuma Police radio chatter shows other shootings may be related. A dead woman was found Thursday morning near Avenue 35-1/2E and Old Highway 80, according to YumaSun.com.
Two more shooting were then reported in the Wellton area, followed by a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Blaisdell off Highway 95.
Yuma Sun
Clint Norred, Yuma police spokesman, has confirmed that five people have been killed in a series of shootings around Yuma County. One other victim has been injured and airlifted to a Phoenix-area hospital.
Norred said the shootings are connected, and are currently under investigation.
Four of the fatal shootings took place out in the county, Norred said, while the fifth person was killed in Yuma.
Norred would not confirm the identity of any of the victims, but attorneys in the downtown Yuma area confirmed the Yuma victim was attorney Jerrold Shelley, who was shot and killed.
Norred also wouldn't confirm if the suspect was alive or dead. However, traffic on the police scanner said the suspect in the shootings had taken his own life.
The Yuma County Sheriff's Office was called to the first scene this morning, when the body of a woman was found in a yard at Avenue 35-1/2E and Old Highway 80. Initial reports on the police scanner said the woman may have suffered a gunshot wound.
Then, around 9:21 a.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to a shooting in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue in Yuma.
According to police scanner traffic, two more shootings were then reported in the Wellton area, followed by a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Blaisdell off Highway 95. The Yuma Sun has not been able to confirm the location of the sixth shooting.
The Yuma Sun obtained an email sent to city of Yuma staff members by City Administrator Greg Wilkinson, which stated the following:
"There have been some shootings in the City and County. It looks like the person has targeted certain people but please use extra caution."
According to the email, a police officer has been stationed at main entrance to Yuma City Hall.
The Yuma County Courthouse and schools in the area, including Roosevelt, Fourth Avenue Junior High and the Post building, were placed under lockdown as a precaution, but that has since been lifted.
Wellton Mayor James Deermer said he still didn’t have a lot of information as of noon about the shootings and “rumors are floating around.”
“This is a tragedy for our community ... that’s true anywhere,” he said.
Yuma Mayor Al Krieger commended public safety officers for their swift response to the tragedy.
“The situation has ended and now we’re sorting out the details,” he said.
"My sympathies to the families with this loss of life."
Updated 1:08 p.m. - The suspect in a series of shootings around Yuma County is dead, police said. Carey Hal Dyess, 73, of Yuma, apparently shot and killed one person in Yuma and three people in Yuma County before shooting himself, according to a press release from the Yuma Police Department.
YPD Spokesman Clint Norred said the shootings are connected, and are currently under investigation.
An additional person was injured and flown to a Phoenix-area hospital.
Dyess was found in the area of Blaisdell and Highway 95 at 11:30 a.m. by Yuma County Sheriff's deputies. He died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
