A suspect was arrested Tuesday a day after 10 people, including police, were killed in a firearm inside a Colorado grocery store, marking the second largest American shooting in week and contribute to the state’s history of deadly murder.
Authorities have yet to see the man see blood and limpets as he was removed from the scene in handcuffs on Monday. A press conference was held late Tuesday morning.
The shooting at the King Soopers mall in Boulder, about 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Denver, drew hundreds of response officers and forced customers and workers to flee for cover.
The first officer on the scene, 51-year-old Eric Talley, was among those killed, Boulder Tears Police Chief Maris Herold said at a news conference Monday. An 11-year-old veteran of the force, Talley was the father of seven children and was recently looking for a less risky job, according to a statement issued by his father.
Authorities provided only a few details and gave no reason for the bloodshed, which came six days after a gunman went on a killing spree in the Atlanta area, shooting eight people to death. died at a spa three days before his arrest.
Witnesses in Colorado described a chaotic and frightening scene inside the store.
Ryan Borowski, 37, went in to look for something to satisfy sugar cravings. He had received a 12-pack of soda and a bag of chips when he heard bells ringing, sending him away scratching to leave the back of the shop.
“It was terrible,” he said. “The fastest fire drill I’ve ever been to.”
Sarah Moonshadow, 42, was at the payline with her adult son, Nicholas, when the gunfire began.
“And I said, ‘Nicholas, go down.’ And Nicholas dug in. And we just started listening and there, just repetitive scenes … and I said, ‘Nicholas, run,’ “she said.
Moonshadow said she tried to attend to a victim she saw lying on the sidewalk outside the store, but her son pulled her away, telling her, ‘We have to go. ‘”She broke down in sobs recounting their plight, saying,” She couldn’t help anyone. “
Police said the accused gunman was taken to hospital for treatment of injuries but did not explain how he was injured. There was no word on when he could face the first court.
Video footage broadcast by television stations showed a shirtless man in boxer trousers being removed from the limpet shop and in handcuffs before being stretched out and loaded into an ambulance. . One of his legs appeared covered in blood.
The killings contributed to a long line of massacre in Colorado that includes some of the most horrific incidents of gun violence in modern U.S. history.
In 2012, a young man in ingenious gear exploded into a cinema in the suburb of Denver in Aurora during midnight screening and exploded the audience with gunfire, killing 12 and injured 70. In 1999, a pair of students went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives.
In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, said the violence once again reinforces the need for stricter gun laws, which have stalled in Congress among Republican opponents.
A video captured by a viewer on Monday, apparently while the shooting was still going on, was posted to social media and broadcast on TV stations. The film shows two bodies lying in the parking lot of the grocery store, before the person walks with the camera inside and films a third body, as three scenes are heard in the background.
The United International Food and Trade Workers Union, Local 7, which represents 32 employees at the King Soopers center, credited some of the grocery workers by helping customers escape through a rear rebellion.
He also thanked customers and emergency responders who took “swift action to prevent even greater loss of life.”
The burn occurred about 2 miles (3 km) from the University of Colorado’s main campus, in the Table Mesa area of the city that is home to the residential neighborhood and hilltop laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.