COLORADO SPRINGS — The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) lifted a shelter-in-place notice around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday following reports of an armed individual near Broadmoor Valley Road.
The order was initially enacted around 10:20 a.m. after reports of a man crashing his vehicle in the area. He got out, fired five to six shots into the air, then headed north.
Two handguns, a rifle, and additional ammunition were found at the scene. No injuries were reported.
The shelter in place order has been lifted. Please continue to avoid the area as police continue their investigation.
— Colorado Springs Police Department (@CSPDPIO) August 22, 2023
PIO is responding; media staging to be announced shortly. https://t.co/WQFpdjYB5I
The impacted area was west of Highway 115 and north of Star Ranch Road at the Country Club of Colorado.
The suspect was detained by Cheyenne Mountain Resort staff on the resort's golf course and was taken into CSPD custody.
Police advised anyone in the area to stay inside, lock up their homes and stay away from windows and doors.
CSPD said it will continue to interview witnesses as the investigation continues.
RELATED:
Emergency Alerts: Will you be notified in Southern Colorado?
Around Southern Colorado, there are multiple emergency notification systems in place to send warnings about any pending danger.
In El Paso and Teller Counties for example it is called Peak Alerts.
“We can take five addresses registered, home, work, at school. And you can register up to eight points of contact, which is a phone call, text message, email, you can download the Everbridge app to get notifications,” said Ben Bills with El Paso/Teller County 911 Authority.
For people in areas with limited connectivity notifications can also be received on emergency weather radios.
When threats like natural disasters or human-caused dangers pose a potential threat, alerts are then targeted to specific geographic areas.
Bills said, “If it's a fire and they take, let's say five blocks in a subdivision, everybody in those five blocks are targeted first for notification because it's critical for them to get that information. first.”
A significant issue limiting the effectiveness of many alert systems is the large number of people who do not register.
Just over 90,000 households are registered with the Peak Alert System—the potential number is over 300,000.
“So we're about a third of the way there,” said Bills, “I think there's a lot of room for improvement there.“
Most county and/or emergency management websites have the county’s emergency plan and resources posted.
Visit the Peak Alerts website to sign up or call (719) 785-1900 for more information.. If you have questions you can also email info@elpasoteller911.org
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