Colorado: According to police, a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Colorado on Monday, killing numerous people, including a police officer, in the latest shooting in the western state, which has seen two of the most notorious US mass killings.
Following the incident at the King Soopers store in Boulder, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the state capital Denver, police commander Kerry Yamaguchi told reporters that one “person of interest” was wounded and taken into custody.
According to police chief Maris Herold, among those killed was “heroic” police officer Eric Talley, 51, who was the first to respond to the scene at a King Soopers supermarket.
“We know of 10 fatalities at the scene, including one of our Boulder PD officers… Officer Tally responded to the scene — was first on the scene — and he was fatally shot,” said Herold.
A white middle-aged man was apprehended by police and escorted from the store in a live-streamed video earlier. He was shirtless and appeared to be covered in blood.
The only person suffering “significant injuries at this point” was the suspect in custody, Yamaguchi said, without verifying that the man in the video was that suspect.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who last month called on Congress to implement “commonsense” gun law changes.
“As we watch this unspeakable event unfold in our Boulder community, my heart breaks,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said, describing the incident as a “senseless tragedy.”
Boulder Mayor Sam Weaver tweeted, “Words cannot express the tragedy that has happened this afternoon.”
Eric Talley, 51, had been with the Boulder Police Department since 2010, according to Herold.
According to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, victims’ families were still being contacted, so their names were not released.
The shooting at the King Soopers shop in Boulder, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado, is also under investigation, according to Yamaguchi.
Dean Schiller told The Associated Press that he had just left the supermarket when he heard gunfire and saw three people lying face down, one near the doorway and two in the parking lot. He said he “couldn’t tell if they were breathing.”
Eyewitness’ account
Multiple gunshots were heard inside the supermarket at the time of the shooting, according to witnesses who escaped through a back entrance.
Ryan Borowski, who was in the shop when he heard at least eight gunshots and fled, told CNN, “I just nearly got killed for taking a soda and a bag of chips.”
Before various new gunshots rang out, unconfirmed early pictures live-streamed by an eyewitness showed at least three people lying prone on the ground both inside and outside the shop.
Previous shootings
The USA, unfortunately, has a long history of mass shootings in public spaces by armed men, Thi shooting comes after the Asian-owned spa shooting in Georgia’s southeastern state, which left eight people dead last week.
Colorado has been the site of two of the most notorious mass shootings in American history.
In 1999, two adolescent boys at Columbine High School shot and killed 12 pupils and a teacher before committing suicide.
Then, in 2012, a heavily armed man attacked a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people while viewing a Batman film. The shooter is now serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
