On Monday, ten people were shot and killed at a Boulder, Colorado store, including a police officer, in the second mass shooting in the United States in a week. Authorities said at a news conference late Monday that the suspect was injured but is in custody and undergoing emergency care. Authorities did not disclose his identity or any information about the shooting, citing the continuing investigation.
Colorado supermarket massive shootings left 10 dead
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said, "This is a shame and a disaster for Boulder County. These were people going about their business, doing their shopping. I assure the victims and the citizens of Colorado that justice will be served."
The shooting came just days after a shooting occurred at three spas in Atlanta and a neighboring county, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Around 2:30 p.m., the incident happened at a King Soopers in Boulder, approximately 25 miles northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado.
Tad Boyle, the head basketball coach at the University of Colorado, said the disaster had been on his mind during his team's second-round NCAA men's basketball tournament game against Florida State on Monday.
In Colorado and Wyoming, King Soopers, a Denver-based supermarket giant Kroger, runs over 150 outlets. Cincinnati is the headquarters of Kroger. Kroger said it is "shocked and profoundly disturbed by the horrific shootings that happened at our King Soopers shop" in a statement released Monday. According to USA Today via Yahoo, the company expressed its condolences and extended prayers and support to all those affected.
Following mass shootings in other cities, Kroger requested in 2019 for customers to keep their guns at home. The policy change came a day after Walmart, a supermarket competitor, announced a similar change.
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Who were the victims of Colorado supermarket shootings?
Officer Eric Talley, 51, was one of the ten people killed in the King Soopers shooting. The authorities have not revealed the identities of the other victims. Around 2:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET), police received calls about a shooting in the neighborhood and "a potential person with a patrol gun," according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.
Herold praised Talley's acts as courageous, as well as the actions of law enforcement officers from a variety of departments that responded to the mass shooting on Monday, NBC News reported. Since 2010, Talley has worked for the Boulder Police Department. According to his father, Homer Talley, Eric Talley had seven children, the youngest of which is seven years old. His father added, "He loved his kids and his family more than anything."
Witnesses mentioned chaos in the store, which is two miles from the University of Colorado Boulder campus. The scene unfolded for several hours, with the shelter in place order lifted at 5:41 p.m. local time. When the gunman entered the shop, two roommates were buying pizza at the self-checkout location, as per the Denver Post. They said that "he just walked in and started shooting" without saying anything. The shooter "let off a couple of shots, then was quiet, and then he let off a couple more, without spraying anything," as per the report.
As the sound of gunfire approached, one grocery store employee, Alex Arellano, reported hearing gunshots and running for cover in the meat department, where he worked, with two others. In an interview with the New York Times, the 35-year-old recalled, "The bullets are getting louder. I was freaking out and thinking about my parents." Arellano was then forced to evacuate from the building's back door.
WATCH: Colorado Supermarket Shootings Leave at Least 10 Dead Including 1 Officer
Who is the suspect, and what is his motive?
According to video taken from live streams at the scene and eyewitnesses' reports, law officers in military gear surrounded the small mall area. Shoppers were told to shelter in place. Police escorted a shirtless man wearing handcuffs from the site, as per a video of the incident. Nothing is clear on how the suspect was arrested, but that he was injured after the arrest and was observed bleeding from the leg whilst being escorted from the supermarket by officers. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
There was no clear information on a potential reason for the attack, and police could not determine if the gunman knew any of the victims or had any links to the supermarket. It's still unclear if the assault began inside the store or in the parking lot, where witnesses reported seeing victims lying down.
As gunshots rang out, James Bentz, who was shopping at the store, told the Denver Post that he and others rushed for the door. Many of the market's windows were smashed out in video recordings. When police arrived at the shop, they, too, came under fire, according to KMGH television news in Colorado.
SWAT teams and armored police units were deployed. A bystander recorded police outside the market on a megaphone pleading with the gunman to surrender: An officer declared, "The whole building is surrounded. You must give up control. Come out unarmed and with your hands up."
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Ten people killed in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. One of them, Police Officer Eric Talley—was a husband & father of 7 kids.
— Amaka Ubaka (@AmakaUbakaTV) March 23, 2021
The suspect was taken into custody. The names of the other victims have not been released. @julianamazzatv has details #7news pic.twitter.com/Fm7mEfSFRR
