Police investigate fatal shooting Friday night in Colorado Springs

An unidentified person has died after being shot just before 7:30 p.m. Friday at an east Colorado Springs apartment complex, police confirmed.

The shooting happened inside an apartment at the Aspen Townhomes, on Pikes Peak Avenue east of the Academy Boulevard intersection.

A witness said the victim was a juvenile but police couldn't confirm that.

"Upon arrival, officers found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound," said Sgt. John Chadbourne. "The victim was later pronounced dead at the scene.  The suspect is not in custody at this time, and detectives are in route to the scene to continue the investigation. At this time, we don't know who the suspect is."

Two witnesses said they were walking on a sidewalk across the street at the time.

"We didn't hear any gunfire," one witness said. "But someone ran up to us and said they needed to use my phone to call 911 because someone had been shot. He was freaking out and that freaked us out. We let him use the phone but anything could have happened."

As of late Friday night, the crime scene remained active and sealed off. The body was still in the apartment until it could be claimed by the El Paso County Coroner's Office, who will conduct an autopsy to determine the victim's manner and cause of death.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

Dennis Bloom, the father of one witness, said the shooting reminded him of getting shot five times during a robbery in the same neighborhood several years ago.

"It's a violent neighborhood and it's very scary at times," he said. "You don't know what to expect out of people. Probably more senseless violence, and it just keeps getting worse."