Ten dead, including police officer, after shooting in Colorado
Ten people, one of them a Boulder police officer, are dead following a shooting at a King Soopers in south Boulder on Monday.
After police earlier in the day did not confirm the number of fatalities, Boulder police Chief Maris Herold said at an evening news conference there were 10 dead, including Boulder police Officer Eric Talley.
“My heart goes out to the victims of this incident and I’m grateful for the police officers that responded, and I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley.”
Herold said police received a call at about 2:30 p.m. of a man with a rifle at the King Soopers at 3600 Table Mesa. Herold said Talley was the first on scene and was fatally shot.
Herold said Talley’s actions were “heroic,” and also praised the officers who followed him in responding to the active scene.
“Police officers’ actions fell nothing short of being heroic,” she said.
The other nine victims have not yet been publicly identified by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, but Herold said they were working to notify families as soon as possible.
“I know there are people out there waiting for an answer, and I’m sympathetic to that,” Herold said.
Police said the shooting and possible motive were still under investigation, but police do have one suspect in custody and do not believe there is any threat to the public.
“I want to reassure the community they are safe,” Herold said.
Sarah Moonshadow and her son, Nicolas Edwards, had just finished paying for strawberries when two shots rang out. She told her son to get down.
“We just ran,” Moonshadow said.
They felt the concussions of shots as they sprinted out. Outside, a body was lying in the parking lot and Moonshadow started toward it. “My son said, ‘No, Mom! We can’t do anything.’”
By the time they got outside, Edwards said police were flying into the parking lot and pulled up next to the body.
“I knew we couldn’t do anything for the guy,” he said. “We had to go.”
Just before 3 p.m. on Monday, Gary Strand and his wife, Jaye Hendrix, left the credit union and liquor store next to the grocery store when they heard the unthinkable happen.
“So we got to the car and — we started backing up right and then we heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,” Strand said in an interview Monday.
“We both thought ‘What’s that noise?’. And then we heard the heavier booms and I said ‘Well that must be fireworks’ but then I was thinking, ‘Why would anyone be setting off fireworks right now’,” he added.
Even hours after the shooting, police said the area around the King Soopers would remain closed while the investigation continued.
Marina La Grave, a victims advocate with the Boulder Police Department, was headed to support those who survived the shooting
“It’s going to be a long night,” she said.
Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said his office would work with police to determine the next steps.
“This is a tragedy and nightmare for Boulder County,” Dougherty said. “We will stand united in support of victims and families to ensure justice is done.”
Police did not release any further information about the suspect Monday.