Police arrest man suspected of killing 3 at Walmart

THORNTON, Colo. — A man accused of opening fire inside a suburban Denver Walmart, killing three people, abruptly walked away from his roofing company job hours before the attack, his former boss said Thursday.

Scott Ostrem’s employer and neighbors painted a somewhat dueling portrait of the suspect.

Ostrem worked at a metal fabrication shop for the past three years without any problems, said David Heidt of B& M Roofing. He called Ostrem a quiet worker who was skilled at making metal flashing for roofs. But midmorning Wednesday, he left his work station without explanation.

Two men and a woman were killed at the store that evening.

Though quiet at work, Ostrem’s neighbors described him as a hostile loner who cursed at them and often carried a shotgun in and out of his third- floor unit.

Police arrested Ostrem, 47, following a brief chase Thursday morning in the northern Denver suburb of Thornton, several blocks from his apartment building and about 5 miles from the Walmart.

Ostrem was handcuffed at a crowded intersection about 14 hours after the shooting that sent dozens of shoppers and workers fleeing in panic from the busy store. Police spokesman Victor Avila declined to say whether Ostrem had a weapon when arrested.

Killed were Pamela Marques, 52, Carlos Moreno, 66, and Victor Vasquez, 26, the coroner said. None were Walmart employees, and all were Hispanic.

Ostrem is white. Police offered no possible motive for the shooting other than to say there was nothing to suggest it was related to terrorism.

Ostrem was identified as a suspect after investigators reviewed surveillance video, police said, though they first had to rule out “a few” other people who drew weapons when the gunman opened fire. Avila said he didn’t know if any of the people were security officers employed by Walmart.

At the Samuel Park Apartments building where Ostrem lived, most tenants talk to each other, but renter Teresa Muniz said Ostrem never returned her greetings and swore at people for sitting on exterior stairways and leaving laundry in communal machines.

“He didn’t seem to have anybody,” she said. “Being angry all the time. That’s what he seemed like, always angry.”