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By DOUG SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer
36 minutes ago
ALEXANDRIA, La. - A man shot five people in a downtown law office Thursday afternoon and holed up in the building, shooting repeatedly at police with two victims still inside, authorities said.
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Two of the victims escaped on their own and police rescued a third, but the gunman repeatedly fought off attempts to reach the others, police said.
"We've tried two or three times to enter, every time he's fired at our officers," Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said. "We have returned fire and we don't know if he's hit or not."
Police fired tear gas into the building and tried unsuccessfully to reach the shooter on his cellular telephone and the office phone, Gatlin said. A SWAT team had positioned itself behind an armored car in front of the law firm.
Gatlin would not identify the shooter.
The (Alexandria) Town Talk newspaper reported that one man, bloodied and in boxer shorts, emerged from the building after police arrived. The paper identified him as attorney Camille Giordano and said he was taken to a hospital. A call to a hospital spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
The newspaper identified the other victims as attorney Sam Giordano and as the law firm's secretary Andrea Fletcher Price. Sam Giordano was in critical condition; Price was in fair condition, according to Charla Ducote, spokeswoman for Rapides Regional Medical Center.
The law office, converted from a one-story family home, is located near the Rapides Parish Courthouse. Police cut electricity to the building and closed off much of the downtown area of this central Louisiana city.
Officers from a number of agencies, including state and local law enforcement offices and a SWAT team, were at the scene, along with ambulances.
36 minutes ago
ALEXANDRIA, La. - A man shot five people in a downtown law office Thursday afternoon and holed up in the building, shooting repeatedly at police with two victims still inside, authorities said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Two of the victims escaped on their own and police rescued a third, but the gunman repeatedly fought off attempts to reach the others, police said.
"We've tried two or three times to enter, every time he's fired at our officers," Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said. "We have returned fire and we don't know if he's hit or not."
Police fired tear gas into the building and tried unsuccessfully to reach the shooter on his cellular telephone and the office phone, Gatlin said. A SWAT team had positioned itself behind an armored car in front of the law firm.
Gatlin would not identify the shooter.
The (Alexandria) Town Talk newspaper reported that one man, bloodied and in boxer shorts, emerged from the building after police arrived. The paper identified him as attorney Camille Giordano and said he was taken to a hospital. A call to a hospital spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
The newspaper identified the other victims as attorney Sam Giordano and as the law firm's secretary Andrea Fletcher Price. Sam Giordano was in critical condition; Price was in fair condition, according to Charla Ducote, spokeswoman for Rapides Regional Medical Center.
The law office, converted from a one-story family home, is located near the Rapides Parish Courthouse. Police cut electricity to the building and closed off much of the downtown area of this central Louisiana city.
Officers from a number of agencies, including state and local law enforcement offices and a SWAT team, were at the scene, along with ambulances.
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