Gunman among 4 dead in Aurora, CO hostage standoff

Four people are dead including a gunman after an hours-long standoff with police in Aurora, Colorado, this morning. According to video from Denver's Channel 9 News, police were alerted to the situation around 3:00 Saturday morning.

Aurora police immediately sent out emergency notifications to residents of the area, urging them to evacuate or take shelter as officers squared off against an individual they deemed to be "armed and extremely dangerous," according to Sgt. Cassidee Carlson.

After a nearly six-hour standoff, police shot the hostage-taker. Officers found three dead bodies when they entered the apartment. One person had escaped earlier, leaping from an upstairs window, which was how police were alerted to the situation.

The city of Aurora is still recovering from the horrific attack on a crowded movie theater which left 12 people dead and dozens injured earlier this year. The suspect in that shooting, James Holmes, is currently awaiting trial.

Watch video from earlier this morning embedded via Denver's NBC News Channel 9, below: