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Shooter Gary Martin, 45, used a Smith & Wesson handgun, the chief said. He was killed after the police found him hiding and firing at officers. The chaos at the workplace lasted 90 minutes, said Ziman.
Five Aurora police officers and one employee were injured, Ziman said.
The first 911 calls were reported to the Aurora police at 1:24 pm CT, interlocutors claiming that there was an active shooter at the Henry Pratt Company, which is one of the largest manufacturers of industrial valves in the United States.
"He was shooting at everyone," said Probst.
A multitude of law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and a team of four approached the building, located in a small industrial area.
There was immediate shooting and an officer was shot, said Ziman. Four other officers were shot just inside the building during the first five minutes of the intervention.
The gunman went further into the 29,000-square-foot warehouse and teams of officers went to fetch him. The gunman was killed by officers, said the chief. A sixth policeman was injured in the knee and had to go to the hospital.
"My heart goes to the victims and their families who just went to work today like any other day," Ziman said.
Authorities were still working Friday night to identify the deceased, city spokesman Clayton Muhammad said.
Probst told WLS that there were about 30 people in the building at the time of the shooting. Probst said he and a colleague escaped through the back door. Probst said that a neighboring resident had allowed him and his colleague to stay in a house.
Four patients have been hospitalized in Aurora, medical officials said. The police chief said two wounded policemen had been flown to trauma centers in Chicago, about 40 kilometers to the east.
Mueller Water Products, Henry Pratt's parent company, said in a statement: "We are wholeheartedly with the victims and their loved ones, the first responders, the Aurora community and the entire Mueller family in this extremely difficult time. and the well-being of our colleagues, and we pledge to give them all the support they need, as well as their families. "
Ziman said that a search warrant had been obtained for Martin's residence. Mary McKnight, who claims to be Martin's immediate neighbor, has moved into the apartment complex during the summer. She said that she was not close to Martin, but that the two were greeting each other by the way.
"He seemed very friendly, he said hello to a lot of people coming and going, I'm a little shocked, I guess," McKnight said. "I'm sad and shocked, and you never know."
An aerial video of the scene just after the shoot showed dozens of police vehicles in front of nearby businesses. The response included at least six ambulances and six fire trucks.
After the incident, police also installed a crime scene tape near Alro Steel Company.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI were reacting, tweeted the agencies.
Aurora, with about 200,000 residents, is the second largest city in Illinois, according to the city's website. Locals refer to Aurora as "City of Lights", making it one of the first American cities to implement a fully electric street lighting system.
Aurora has a strong musical and artistic scene and even forms part of the popular film-mate "Wayne's World". Although it is a suburb of Chicago, Aurora has a long tradition of manufacturing.
CNN's Dave Alsup, Keith Allen, Elizabeth Joseph, Cheri Mossburg, Mark Morales and Jessica Schneider contributed to this report.
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