(DENVER) — A shooter allegedly went on a “killing spree” across the Denver area Monday night, killing five and wounding two others, across at least four locations, officials said.

The suspect also died following an exchange of gunfire with police, officials said. Prior to the shooting, federal law enforcement was aware that the suspect, Lyndon Mcleod, harbored extremist views and had a history of psychiatric episodes, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News.

Law enforcement is now scouring the suspect’s writings, both physical and online, and trying to determine what led up to the shooting spree, sources said. Police said they had investigated the suspect in 2020 and 2021 for previous incidents, but he was not arrested either time.

All of the victims were known to Mcleod through personal or business relationships, police said at a press conference Tuesday evening. Police confirmed on Tuesday that a fifth shooting victim had died, but did not specify which person died of those who were injured.

The incident began at about 5 p.m. on Monday in downtown Denver, where three people were shot, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said. Two women were killed and a man was injured, he said.

The shooting appeared to start with a tattoo parlor as the target, sources said, citing preliminary findings of the investigation. State business records obtained by ABC News indicate Mcleod used to own a tattoo business in Denver.

Gunshots were then reported at a second location, but there were no injuries, he said. That location, on Bannock Street and Sixth Avenue, was where Mcleod owned a tattoo business as recently as 2017, according to state business records. A van was also set on fire in a nearby alley, allegedly by the suspect.

Police received a call moments later about a third shooting nearby, where one man was killed, Pazen said.

“Denver police officers identified a vehicle associated with this incident. There was a pursuit that ensued,” Pazen said. “There was an exchange of gunfire between the individual, the suspect, here, and our officers.”

There were no injuries in that exchange, Pazan said, but the suspect disabled a police vehicle and fled into neighboring Lakewood.

Lakewood police then responded to a report of a shooting at about 6 p.m., said John Romero, the department’s public information officer. One person was killed in that incident at Lucky 13 tattoo parlor, police said.

Lakewood police then located the suspect’s vehicle at a shopping center, Romero said. The suspect shot at officers, before fleeing on foot to a nearby store and then a Hyatt Place hotel, he said. The suspect shot a clerk at the hotel, Romero said.

The suspect shot and injured a Lakewood officer while fleeing the hotel, Romero said. The officer is in stable condition but will need to undergo more surgeries, police said.

The suspect and officers then exchanged gunfire, and the suspect was shot and killed, Romero said.

“This is the holiday season. To have this type of spree take place is not normal for our community,” Pazen said. “We cannot lose sight of the victims in this, the people who are still fighting for their lives, including a Lakewood agent.”

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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 820,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.8% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:
-5 states seeing more cases than any other point in pandemic
-Biden ends travel restrictions on 8 African countries
-Omicron accounting for about 58.6% of new cases
-CDC shortens recommended isolation time for some infected patients

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Dec 28, 5:49 pm
CDC investigating 86 cruise ships for COVID-19 cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 86 cruise ships operating or planning to operate in U.S. waters that have reported COVID-19 cases.

In order to meet the threshold for a CDC investigation, a ship must report COVID-19 cases in more than 0.10% of passengers or have a single crew member test positive in the previous seven days.

The CDC started by investigating 38 ships, and has now investigated 48 additional vessels, which remain “under observation.”

None of the ships have been designated as “red,” which means they haven’t reached the level of COVID-19 transmission needed to overwhelm the medical resources on board.

ABC News’ Mina Kaji

Dec 28, 3:53 pm
UCLA pulls out of bowl game

UCLA said its football team has pulled out of Tuesday night’s San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19.

UCLA was set to play North Carolina State.

ABC News’ Matt Fuhrman

Dec 28, 3:22 pm
Greece sees record single-day increase

Greece reported 21,657 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday — a record 133% increase from the 9,284 new cases reported on Monday, according to government data.

Eighty-five percent of COVID-19 patients in Greece’s hospitals are not vaccinated.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Dec 28, 3:04 pm
US cases, hospitalizations, deaths expected to rise

Forecast models used by the CDC suggest cases, hospitalizations and deaths will rise over the next four weeks.

According to the models, the U.S. death toll could reach 862,900 by Jan. 22.

Nationally, estimates suggest between 8,700 and 20,800 Americans could be admitted to the hospital each day by Jan. 10.

These forecasts are from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst, where a team monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers. The team then creates an ensemble — displayed like a hurricane forecast spaghetti plot — usually with a wide cone of uncertainty.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Brian Hartman

 

 

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to keep an eye on the veggies in their fridge for a potential listeria contamination.

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc., is voluntarily recalling from the market all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at its facilities in Bessemer City, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona, the FDA said.

A random analysis of listeria packages of a Dole-branded garden salad from the two facilities found samples of a strain of listeria monocytogenes, the FDA said.

“Products subject to the voluntary recall are identified by a product lot code beginning with either the letter “N” or “Y” in the upper right-hand corner of the package,” the FDA said in its advisory.

The packaging will have a “best if used by date” between Nov. 30, 2021 and Jan. 8, 2022, according to the agency.

Listeria can cause symptoms such as “high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea,” and be fatal, especially for children, the elderly and the immunocompromised, the FDA said.

More details about the recall, including a complete list of affected products is available on the FDA’s website.

Consumers can contact the Dole Consumer Response Center at 800-356-3111 with any questions about the recall.

 

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