Photo Courtesy of cnn.com
On March 22nd, a shooting in a Boulder, Colorado supermarket left 10 people dead. According to CNN, Boulder police Chief Maris Herold says at about 2:30 p.m. MT (4:30 ET) police received a call that shots were fired by a person who had a “patrol rifle.” This weapon was later identified by law enforcement as an AR-15-style-rifle. Boulder police Chief Maris Herold says that Officer Eric Talley was one of the ten people who had died that day and had served as a Boulder police officer since 2010.
Eric Talley, Photo Courtesy of irishcentral.com
Boulder police tweeted at 2:49 p.m. (4:49 p.m. ET) stating "Active Shooter at the King Soopers on Table Mesa. AVOID THE AREA." At the same time, a CNN affiliate KMGH’s helicopter was able to record a shirtless man being taken from the supermarket and into an ambulance. He appeared to have blood on both his arm and right leg. This man was not identified yet on whether he was involved in the active shooting. Multiple police units reported to the scene of the shooting at the shopping center. Police officials later said they wanted to put out another location just 3 miles away from the shopping center. The tweet would have said “report of armed, dangerous individual." CNN reported that police found out that the activity had nothing to do with what was happening at the shopping center.
Dean Schiller, an eyewitness the day of the mass shooting and so happened to be livestreaming showed the shooting happening police arriving to the scene. During the livestream, Schiller shouted out that people should call 911. CNN reports Schiller saying in the livestream, “We don't know if there's a shooter, active shooter somewhere.”
A man and a woman were identified to hear the first gunshot. The couple explains to KMGH what they heard. The man says that after he heard the gunshots a few seconds after that, he heard more bangs. “I immediately sprinted over to her and we got out of here and pushed open the emergency door.” The man continues to say that he stood by the emergency exit to help people escape from the supermarket safely but claims never seeing the shooter.
Ryan Borowski was shopping when he heard the gunshots. By the third one, he saw people running. Borowski tells CNN, “Boulder feels like a bubble, and the bubble burst.” "This feels like the safest spot in America, and I just nearly got killed for getting a soda and a bag of chips." He also explains to CNN that he could not believe something like this happened in his own town.
Part of a statement made by Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, Photo Courtesy of kdvr.com
It was spotted by the KMGH helicopter that people were evacuating from the supermarket onto the top of the roof. "They hid, ran upstairs, were hiding in a coat closet for the last hour," one man tells CNN. The man continues to say that the police came to get that and instructed them to stay quiet. Police at this point were looking through car windows in the parking lot.
Governor Jared Polis put a statement out on Twitter saying, “Like my fellow Coloradans, I am closely watching unfolding events at King Soopers in Boulder. My prayers are with our fellow Coloradans in this time of sadness and grief as we learn more about the extent of the tragedy."
Helicopter view of the shopping center, Photo Courtesy of kyfrtv.com
Kroger, which is associated with King Soopers supermarket, put out a statement saying, “The entire Kroger family offers our thoughts, prayers and support to our associates, customers, and the first responders who so bravely responded to this tragic situation” Kroger said this as they were “horrified and deeply saddened by the senseless violence” by what happened in their store.
Statement made by Kroger, Photo Courtesy of wpta21.com
Kroger said that the King Sooper supermarket will remain closed as the store is still under investigation from the shooting that unfolded last Monday. But in the meantime, the King Soopers employee union is praying for the shoppers and employees, which include the 32 people who work at the Boulder location.
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