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Five people have been confirmed dead following a shooting at a manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday.   

The shooter was identified as 45-year-old Gary Martin, Chief of Police Kristen Ziman said at a news conference. Law enforcement sources had earlier confirmed that he was among the fatalities. None of the other victims have been identified.

The gunman's sister Tameka Martin told WBEZ that he had worked at Henry Pratt for about 20 years before losing his job about two weeks ago. The gunman's mother told WGN: 'My heart goes out to all the victims and their families.' 

According to witnesses, Martin walked down an aisle of the warehouse around 1.40pm local time, shooting 'everybody' with a pistol which has a laser scope attached to it. Another witness said the handgun had a green laser attached to it. 

The suspect was said to be an employee of Henry Pratt, a water valve manufacturing company, who arrived for work at 7am like he would on other day, according to workers who survived and have since spoken to local news networks.   

Kane County coroner's office spokesman Chris Nelson confirmed that at least one person was killed in the attack but did not provide any additional details. 

City spokesman Clayton Muhammad earlier told ABC7 that the four officers wounded in the shooting are in stable condition. 

President Trump reacted to the shooting on Twitter Friday evening, writing: 'Great job by law enforcement in Aurora, Illinois. Heartfelt condolences to all of the victims and their families. America is with you!'

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Five people have been killed in a shooting at the Henry Pratt manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday afternoon

A SWAT team has entered the building and dozens of other officers from the FBI and ATF are on the scene 

An armed law enforcement officer runs towards the Henry Pratt Warehouse in Aurora, Illinois 

 One witness who spoke to ABC said: 'I saw a guy running down the aisle, with a pistol, I recognized him as a co-worker and he was shooting everybody.' 

The man added: 'One of the guys was up in the office, he said this person was shootin', and, he come running down and he was bleeding pretty bad, and the next thing you know he was walking back and forth, I heard more shots, and we just left the building.' 

The four police officers who were shot are all in a stable condition and are expected to survive.  There is no word yet on the condition of any of the civilians who were hurt. 

Police remain on the scene in their hundreds with officers from local agencies in addition to SWAT teams, FBI agents and ATF officers all on hand.  

The warehouse is near several schools and a university. The schools have been placed in lock-down. 

It is not yet known if the shooter opened fire before police arrived at the scene or if the gunfire started once authorities were there.  

Armed police at the scene with rifles patrol the scene of a shooting at a water valve manufacturing warehouse in Illinois on Friday after a shooter opened fire, injuring multiple people 

There is an enormous law enforcement presence at the scene. Police confirmed at around 3.30pm, nearly two hours after the first reports, that the scene had been secured

The shooting took place around 40 miles from Chicago, in the suburb of Aurora 

The police department confirmed the shooting on Friday afternoon in a handful of brief tweets. 

'We have an ongoing active shooter incident at 641 Archer Av. This is an ongoing active scene. 

'We will provide more information once confirmed.

'We have an active shooter incident at 641 Archer Av. This is an active scene. Please avoid the area,' said a second tweet. 

Henry Pratt is a water valve manufacturing company.  A witness who works nearby told Fox News: 'We heard about three or four shots. 

'We had the kitchen open, the door, we could hear it. We heard three [shots],' she said. 

There are a large number of emergency vehicles at the scene but it remains unclear how many have been hurt