Officials search for motive in warehouse shooting

Three people remain hospitalized after the shooting.According to police, 22-year-old Michael Ford opened fire at the warehouse in northeast Denver, killing one person and injuring five others. SWAT team members killed Ford about an hour after the ordeal began.Investigators don't know what motivated the shooting. Police Chief Gerry Whitman said investigators had talked with some members of Ford's family, but had not been able to determine a motive. He declined to comment on a 9NEWS interview with Ford's sister in which the girl said her brother had been teased about his religion at work. Ford was a Muslim.Safeway spokesman Jeff Stroh said none of the victims was a supervisor, and said the company had not received any complaints of harassment or other problems about Ford or from Ford. The company has a "zero-tolerance" policy on harassment, Stroh said.Safeway employee Mauricio DeHaro, 32, was killed in the shooting. He leaves behind two daughters, ages 4 and 6 years old."We are obviously devastated by what has happened and we are very saddened and wish to have privacy at this time," the DeHaro family said in a statement.Denver Police officer Derick Dominguez was shot in the hip during the shooting. He is in fair condition with non life threatening injuries.Another victim, Mark Moran, 37, has been upgraded to serious condition. A third victim, John Mendoza, 27, is in fair condition with a facial injury.Two other shooting victims have been released from the hospital.Whitman said 911 calls from employees in the warehouse helped SWAT teams pinpoint Ford's location. He said Ford "ambushed" Dominguez, and then fired at other officers who responded to the sound of the shot. Those officers immediately returned fire, firing 17 rounds, seven of which hit Ford, Whitman said. "It was a gun battle that he started," Whitman said.Ford was armed with a long-barreled handgun and fired a total of 16 rounds, Whitman said. He died at 4:24 p.m., 72 minutes after the first 911 call was received, according to the chief. He said 152 employees were working when the shooting broke out.Ford had worked at the warehouse for more than a year filling orders in the produce department, Stroh said. All five workers shot, including DeHaro, worked in the same department as Ford. Whitman said Ford's fire-starting attempts were unsuccessful, but generated a lot of smoke that made the officers' work more difficult. He said the warehouse, a 1.3 million-square-foot building, is full of rows of shelves and boxes, with many hiding places. Ford's family described him as a good, non-violent person."My heart just goes out to everybody," Ford's aunt said. "Michael was a good person. I just don't know what happened."