BOULDER, Colo. (AP/KDVR) — Authorities responded to a shooting that left 10 people dead at a King Soopers store in Boulder, Colorado on Monday. Photos from the scene show police, emergency vehicles and people being led from inside the store.
“We know of 10 fatalities at the scene, including one of our Boulder PD officers by the name of Eric Talley,” Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said Monday evening, calling his actions at the scene “heroic.”
Talley joined the police force in 2010.
The victims ranged in age from 20 to 65 and included King Soopers employees, a licensed care agent who helped people navigate Medicare and a former photo director for several fashion magazines.
On Monday afternoon, law enforcement vehicles and officers surrounded the building and told someone inside to surrender on Monday afternoon. Officers could be seen leading a shirtless, handcuffed man with a bloodied leg away from the store.
“This is a tragedy and a nightmare for Boulder County, and in response, we have cooperation and assistance from local, state and federal authorities,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.
A man who had just left the store, Dean Schiller, said he heard gunshots and saw three people laying face down, two in the parking lot and one near the doorway. He said he “couldn’t tell if they were breathing.”
Video posted on YouTube showed one person on the floor inside the store and two more outside on the ground, but the extent of their injuries wasn’t clear. What sounds like two gunshots are also heard at the beginning of the video.
The union that represents the 32 grocery workers at the King Soopers location where the shooting happened issued the following statement Monday:
“Today our community experienced a senseless act of violence that caused an unnecessary loss of life in Boulder’s vibrant community. It is with deep sadness we mourn the victims and their families who have lost loved ones today, including the heroic Boulder police officer who died in the line of duty. We are forever grateful to the grocery workers, customers, and the first responders who acted swiftly to prevent even greater loss of life–protecting our members and all those in danger inside the store.
This senseless act of evil also highlights and shines a light on the best of human nature. There are news reports that after gunshots rang out, grocery workers helped customers in the store find safety, directing shoppers to an exit at the back of the store, and assisted one another to escape the danger inside.
No one should have to fear for their lives while they grocery shop or go to work every day. Unfortunately, our grocery members, frontline Essential Workers, have lived in fear each and every day during the pandemic. These workers have risked getting COVID-19 to make sure shelves were stocked and communities had access to food and other essential services. As COVID-19 cases increased, and colleagues fell ill and some died, they continued to go to work, even as they faced COVID-19 workplace hazards, as well as hostile customers including verbal and physical attacks by unstable members of the public.
For the last year our members and other associates have fought an invisible enemy, COVID-19, but today several innocent souls were killed by an evil human. We call on government officials and employers to do more to protect our members and communities from the constant threat of violence.
Local 7 continues to monitor the situation as details become available.”
