COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Seven adults were killed while attending a family birthday party at the Canterbury Mobile home park. At noon on Sunday, police arrived to find seven deceased adults as well as one with serious injuries. The wounded adult man later died in the hospital. 

According to the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), the principal suspect was the boyfriend of one of the female victims. CSPD believes he drove to the party and opened fire upon entering the residence. After killing six and wounding a seventh person, he shot himself. Several children were present, but none were harmed. 

Denver Post reporter, Shelly Bradbury, arrived on the scene at 4 p.m. to find neighbor Yenifer Reyes who was awoken by the gunshots. “I thought it was a thunderstorm,” She said. “Then I started hearing the sirens.”

Reyes described the children as “crying hysterically” as they were brought out of the trailer by police. Hours after the shooting, Bradbury reported that the populous mobile home lot was “quiet.”

“One woman is sobbing,” said Bradbury. “Others are embracing. It is cold and windy and gray.”

CSPD’s Violent Crimes detectives are working to ascertain a motive for the killing. Police plan to release the names of the seven deceased victims and one suspect after a coroner’s report has concluded. The shooting comes just two months after the murder of 10 in a Boulder supermarket. 

Colorado Springs Police Chief Vince Niski was distraught by the tragedy and pledged his “unwavering support” to the victims’ families. “Words fall short to describe the tragedy that took place this morning,” said Niski. “This is something you hope never happens in your own community, in the place that you call home.”

The mayor of Colorado Springs, John Suthers, called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” and is “praying solemnly for those who were injured and those who lost family members.” 

Gov. Jared Polis said it was a “terrible act of violence” and was particularly saddened by the timing of the calamity. 

“[It is] devastating, especially as many of us are spending the day celebrating the women in our lives who have made us the people we are today,” said Polis. 

Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the crime call CSPD (719-444-7000) or the Crime Stoppers Tip line (719-634-STOP).