Three dead in Colorado over property dispute: Police searching for Custer County shooter

A manhunt is on for the gunman who killed three people and wounded another over an apparent dispute over property lines in rural southern Colorado, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.  A dispute over property on Rocky Ridge Road may have led to a shooting along a “property line in the wooded area,” according to a report from ABC News.

The mass shooting happened around 1 p.m. Monday when the killer opened fire on five people in a wooded area, Custer County Sheriff Lloyd “Rich” Smith said at a news conference Monday night.  Two men and a woman were killed, he said. Another woman suffered gunshots to the chest and is expected to survive, while a fifth person managed to escape, Smith said.  ~ CNN

In Custer County, where the sheriff’s office has 8 deputies, the County Coroner was one of the first on scene of a deadly shooting after a suspected neighbor dispute.

They helped save a woman shot multiple times while 3 others were dead nearby and a shooter at large.@KOAA pic.twitter.com/xxrBWjGGRX

— Maggie Bryan KOAA (@MaggieB_TV) November 21, 2023

Following the shootings, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office issued  a shelter-in-place order for locations south of Highway 50 near Salida and Poncha Springs as they searched for an armed individual wanted for the homicides in Custer County. That shelter in place order was eventually lifted around 8 p.m..

Early this morning, the sheriff’s office reported that they were still searching for that armed and dangerous homicide suspect from Custer County.

The suspect, Hanme K. Clark is 45 years old, 6’3″, 200 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. He is driving a 2017 white Ram 1500 pickup with a topper, license plate BHLK27. He may be accompanied by a female with dark hair (no further description).

If you see the vehicle or the suspect, DO NOT APPROACH, call 9-1-1 immediately.

And just hours ago, officials released an image of the back of the white 2017 Ram pickup with topper, believed to be associated with the shooter. The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said that “the truck is a long bed, single cab pickup. If you see the vehicle, do not approach, call 9-1-1 right away. License plate is BHLK27. Colorado plate.”

The shooter and at least one of the victims were known to be in previous civil disputes over property lines and easements, according to CBS News.

For more on the Custer County shootings, see the video accompanying this article.

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(Sources: Custer County Sheriff’s Office, and, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)
(Hanme K. Clark cover photo, Image credit, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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