At least 10 dead after shooting inside a King Soopers in Boulder
A gunman opened fire at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket on Monday afternoon, killing 10 people, including a “heroic” police officer who was one of the first cops to respond to the mass killing, law enforcement officials said.
The suspect — who was not identified — was taken into custody alive and was being treated for unspecified injuries after the rampage, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said at a press conference hours after the shooting at a King Soopers store.
The gunman started his rampage at about 2:30 p.m. in the area near the supermarket, which is located in a suburban stretch of the city, police officials said. Cops swarmed the store within minutes — and one of the first officers who responded, 51-year-old Eric Talley, was fatally blasted by the shooter, Herold said.
Talley, who had been with the department since 2010, acted “heroic” as he responded to the shooting, Herold said, fighting back tears as she spoke to reporters near the scene of the shooting.
Dramatic live video posted on YouTube had shown officers escorting a shirtless man in handcuffs and with blood running down his leg out of the supermarket, but cops wouldn’t say if that was the suspect.
Other than the suspect, no survivors sustained “serious” injuries, officials said.
The names of the victims were not immediately released as their families were still being notified, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.
“These were people going about their day doing their food shopping and their lives were cut abruptly and tragically short by the shooter,” Dougherty said, vowing to prosecute the killer.
Authorities didn’t provide a possible motive or give more details about the shooting, which unfolded just about two miles south of the University of Colorado-Boulder campus.
“He didn’t say s–t,” one eyewitness told the Denver Post about the gunman. “He just came in and started shooting.”
In the footage posted on YouTube, at least two people could be seen lying motionless on the ground outside the store, and one just inside its doors.
As the cameraman walked inside, more shots rang out and the livestreamer ran out — just as law enforcement appeared to be descending on the scene.
Hundreds of officers from the area could be seen swarming the parking lot, surrounding the store and even standing on the roof.
A SWAT team could be seen suiting up outside the store, as officers stood behind police vehicles for cover.
At one point, authorities could be heard saying over a loudspeaker that the building was surrounded and “You need to surrender.”
Police could be seen in an armored car approaching the store, which was badly damaged and had many of its front windows blown out.
Shopper Sarah Moonshadow told Denver7 she was standing at the checkout lane when she heard the gunshots — and told her 21-year-old son to start running.
“I said, ‘Just run, don’t look! Just run!’” Moonshadow recalled, adding that the gunman “was definitely coming in our direction.”
The mom and son made it out safely, before encountering a man lying in the parking lot.
“I started running toward him to try to help him,” Moonshadow said, “and my son grabbed me by my coat and said, ‘No, we can’t help him. We gotta go.’”
Another man told CBS News that his son-in-law and granddaughters hid inside a closet in the store for an hour.
“They walked into the pharmacy for him to get a COVID-19 shot and the shooter came in, shot the woman in front of them,” he said. “They hid, ran upstairs … They were hiding in a coat closet for the last hour.”
He said police later came in “through the roof” and got them to safety.
James Bentz told the Denver Post that he was in the meat section when he heard a series of pops.
“I was then at the front of a stampede,” he said.
To escape, Bentz said, he jumped off a loading dock, and added he saw younger people helping older ones off of it.
“As we were waiting on the pizza and we started hearing gunshots,” witness Daniel Douglas told WDVR-TV. “It sounded like someone was breaking glass at first. We started screaming and hit the ground.”
“My nerves are so racked right now,” he said. “I’m having a hard time talking.”
One witness reported a person wearing tactical gear and holding an “AR-15-style weapon” at the scene, the station reported.
Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that his “heart is breaking as we watch this unspeakable event in our community.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and would be kept up to date on any developments.
The FBI said it was helping Boulder police with the investigation.
Authorities said the investigation would last at least five days. Another press conference was set for Tuesday morning.
District Attorney Dougherty said Boulder had suffered a “horrific mass shooting” as he extended his condolences to the fallen cop’s family.
Hours after the shooting, several groups of law enforcement and first responders held a procession down a nearby street for the officer, with bystanders seen waving American flags.
With Post wires
