COLORADO SHOOTER
White man calmly enters store and kills 3, say police
THORNTON (Colorado)
AMAN susp ected of walking into a Walmart store here in suburban Denver and “nonchalantly” shooting to death two men and a woman has been arrested, police said yesterday.
The seemingly random shooting on Wednesday here comes a month after a gunman killed 58 people in Las Vegas, the deadliest mass shooting in recent United States history.
Police identified the suspect as 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, and said on Twitter that he had been taken into custody.
Police spokesman Victor Avila said the suspect calmly walked i n t o t h e Wa l m a r t s t o r e a t 6.10pm.
“He walked in very nonchalantly with his hands in the pockets, raised a weapon and began shooting. Then he turns around and walks out of the store,” the Denver Post quoted Avila as saying.
“From what we have right now it appears to be random. It’s a crazy world we live in.”
Police said the female victim died later in hospital.
Aaron Stephens, 44, said he was paying for groceries at a selfcheckout stand inside Walmart when he heard gunshots and the sound of ricocheting bullets.
“The employees started screaming and the customers started screaming” as people began to flee the store, he recounted.
“I ran out, too, because I didn’t want to get shot.”
Stephens said he did not see where the shooting had come from and did not see anyone struck by bullets.
Local NBC television affiliate 9NEWS reported that a woman whose son was at the Walmart had told her that he had heard about 30 gunshots.
Thornton has a population of 120,000 and is 16km northeast of downtown Denver.
More than 33,000 gun-related deaths occur annually in the US, according to a study released this month.
Moves to curb gun ownership have failed repeatedly to make it through the US Congress over the years. Agencies