10 Dead from Colorado Mass Shooting
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Mar 22, 2021
Ten people, including a Boulder, CO, police officer have died following at shooting in the Denver suburb of Boulder, at a King Soopers grocery store. The horrifying incident took place Monday afternoon when a man armed with an AR-15 open fire outside the store, then went inside to shoot more people.
This is the seventh mass shooting in a week in the United States. According to CNN, a mass shooting is an incident where there are four or more casualties (dead or wounded), excluding the shooter. There were three on Saturday along.
Police veteran, Eric Talley, 51, was responding to report of an active shooter, when he was gunned down by the suspect. Police Chief Maris Herold fought back tears as she spoke to the media yesterday evening. Talley leaves behind a wife and seven children, the youngest being 7 years old.
A week ago, a suspect went on a rampage, killing eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent at three spas in Atlanta and a nearby county.
The Colorado suspect was taken into custody after police and emergency vehicles filled the parking lot and surrounded the grocery store. Police removed a near naked man from the facility, placed him in handcuffs and placed him in an ambulance. Later, the man was declared a suspect and arrested while taken to an area hospital where medical staff took care of his wounds. He has not been identified at this point. (An update will be posted when that information becomes available.)
Officials did not disclose the identity of any of the other victims, saying they needed to first notify family members.
A second shooter was reported but was not true.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: 12:44 p.m.
Tuesday
Colorado Grocery Store Victims Identified
The 10 victims of the Monday shooting have been identified by Boulder CO, police. Ages range from 20 to 65. They are The victims were identified as Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Talona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; Jody Waters, 65.
The gunman, also identified (will be named only one time) is identified as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, and was shot in the leg, Herold said. He was expected to be released from a hospital Tuesday and then booked into the county jail, authorities said.
During a media briefing, law enforcement told the Associated Press that the gunman used an AR-15 rifle, which is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle. Officials are attempting to trace the origins of the weapon.
The union representing the workers at King Soopers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union praised the “brave Colorado grocery workers caught in the crossfire of this tragic shooting.”
Several witnesses said the shooting started outside in the parking lot. When law enforcement responded, the shooter exchanged gunfire when the suspect entered the store. None of the shoppers inside the store survived the attack survived.
A witness across the street from the store said the situation devolved into chaos quickly. She said she looked out her window and saw a body on the ground and a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle, after which he went inside the store. Moment later, people were seen running out of the store.
Among the victims was Eric Talley, 51, an 11 year veteran of the Boulder Police Department. He has been described by the Boulder County District Attorney as one of the outstanding officers on the BPD department.
The University of Colorado is located in Boulder, and the school’s head men’s basketball coach said the shooting weighed heavily on his mind during the second round of the NCAA tournament against Florida State.
“It puts basketball in its proper place,” Tad Boyle said. “Win or lose tonight, I just felt an emptiness in my stomach. Another senseless act of violence that we’ve experienced as a country many, many times."
King Soopers, a Denver-based subsidiary of supermarket giant Kroger, operates more than 150 stores in Colorado and Wyoming. Cincinnati-based Kroger said it is "horrified and deeply saddened by the senseless violence that occurred at our King Soopers store." The company offered prayers and support for all affected. In the wake of mass shootings elsewhere, Kroger asked shoppers in 2019 to leave firearms at home. The change in policy came a day after grocery rival Walmart made a similar statement.
Dozens of police and emergency vehicles, their lights flashing, escorted an ambulance carrying the deceased officer from the shooting scene after nightfall. Some residents stood along the route, their arms raised in salute.