WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from a shooting spree

across multiple locations in Colorado, which ended when the gunman was
himself shot dead, has risen to five, police said Tuesday.

  The trail of shooting began around 5:00 pm on Monday and unfolded across at
least four different locations in the cities of Denver and Lakewood, said
police, who had initially put the death toll at four.

  Two women were killed and a man was wounded in the first location in
Denver, police said, with a another man shot dead outside his residence.

  The gunman then traveled to neighboring Lakewood, where he fatally shot
another man in the Lucky 13 tattoo parlor and wounded another individual.

  Working off information gathered from the previous assaults, Lakewood
officers were able to identify the shooter as he moved locations.

  The shooter entered a shopping center where he fatally shot a female
employee, police said.

  He then encountered a police officer in the shopping center who ordered him
to drop his weapon. In the subsequent exchange of fire, the officer was
wounded but shot dead the suspect.

  The gunman was "pronounced dead on the scene" said Lakewood police
spokesman John Romero. He added the police officer was "doing well" but that
she would need further surgery.

  The shooter's motivations were unknown, but police said that "based on what
we know, it does appear that the offender was targeting specific people."

   Two weapons were recovered by police.

  Gun violence is a huge problem in the United States and gun control
advocates say the issue is fueled by the prevalence of firearms as well as by
relatively lax gun laws.