Real estate dispute in southern Colorado leaves 3 dead, 1 seriously injured; suspect on the run

WESTCLIFFE — Authorities in southern Colorado searched Tuesday for a man they say shot and killed three people and seriously injured a fourth during a property dispute.

The suspect, 45, was driving a white Ram 1500 pickup truck equipped with a camper shell, according to a Facebook post from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

Residents in this rural, wooded area were asked to shelter in place for five hours Monday while authorities searched for the man, but the order was lifted Monday evening while he remained at large.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said in an emergency notification shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday that “after a vigilant air and ground search, the Sheriff’s Office believes the homicide suspect has likely left the area.” area “. In a social media post earlier Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said it was searching for the man and that residents were asked to shelter in place in the southeastern part of the county, about 40 miles northeast. west of where the shooting took place. The affected area was south of US 50, from the Fremont County line to Poncha Springs.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was Hanme K. Clark, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He drives a white 2017 Ram 1500 pickup truck with a topper, registration BHLK27.

“He could be accompanied by a dark-haired female (no further description). If you see the vehicle or suspect, DO NOT APPROACH, call 9-1-1 immediately,” the sheriff’s office said on social media.

Around 1 p.m. Monday, a report of shots fired sent deputies to Rocky Ridge Road, about 8 miles from the county seat of Westcliffe and about 50 miles southwest of Colorado Springs.

The shooting took place on a property line in a wooded area and began with “an alleged property dispute,” the sheriff’s office said.

Two men and a woman died at the scene and a fourth person was taken to a trauma center in critical condition but is expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said.

The names of the victims and other details were not immediately released.

This is one of several mass shootings across the country in recent days.

Four people were injured Monday evening when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, before killing himself, police said.

A Tennessee man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday while on the run after a series of shootings that left four of his loved ones dead.

Police found the body of Mavis Christian Jr., 52, in her car during a search following shootings in three Memphis locations that left three women and a teenage girl dead and a teenage girl seriously injured, they said. Memphis police.