Suspect inWalmart shootings arrested
Man opened fire in Colorado store, killing 3 people.
Aman THORNTON,COLO.— suspected of fatally shooting two men and a woman inside a suburban Denver Walmart was arrested 14 hours later following a brief car chase Thursday that ended at a congested intersection during the morning rush hour, police said.
Scott Ostrem, 47, was arrested after police pulled over his car about 5 miles from the Walmart store in the city of Thornton, police spokesman Victor Avila said.
Television footage showed Ostrem, with close-cropped hair and wearing a red polo shirt, standing silently and staring down as he was handcuffed. Avila declined comment on whether Ostrem had aweaponwhen hewas arrested.
Police had yet to determine amotive for the shooting, which occurred late Wednesday inside the busy Walmart about 10 miles north of Denver in a busy shopping center. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local police in the investigation.
Witnesses said a man walked into the store, opened fire and fled. Dozens of shoppers and employees dropped to the ground and rushed to escape as police cruisers and ambulances raced to the scene.
Aaron Stephens, 44, was in the self-checkout line when he heard a single shot followed by two bursts of gunfire. Then people ran for the store’s exits.
“The employees started screaming. Customerswere screaming. Theywere running like crazy, and I ran out too because I didn’t want to get killed,” he said.
Twomen died inside the store, and a woman died later at a hospital, police said. Their identities were not immediately released, and it was not known if the suspect knew them.
No W al mart workers were injured in the attack, said spokesman Ragan Dickens. Dickens added that there is no evidence that Ostrem ever worked for Walmart. The store remained closed Thursday, he said.
Authorities identified Ostrem as a suspect after reviewing surveillance footage from the store.
Avila said police went to a Thornton apartment early Thursday and did not find Ostremthere, but received an anonymous tip that he was driving a red Mitsubishi in the area and quickly spotted him. The brief chase ensued.
Ostrem was taken away in a police car and the car he was driving was towed away on a flatbed truck.
Avila said Ostrem had a minor criminal history but did not elaborate. Court records show a charge of resisting arrest against Ostremin 1999was dismissed. Records also show Ostrem filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
Ostremworked for a Denver-based roofing company as a field employee until 2014, said Sandra Runyon, an administrative assistant at Tecta America Colorado Commercial Roofing. Runyon said the company had had no contact with Ostremsince he left. She didn’t provide additional details.