Boulder shooting | Full coverage
A gunman killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder on Monday afternoon, March 22, 2021, plunging the university town into what local authorities called "a tragedy and a nightmare." Boulder authorities announced Tuesday morning they arrested Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, who lived in Arvada at the time of the shooting.
It was a sunny Monday and Boulder was melting off after digging out from a week of snowstorms. Police radio traffic had been mostly quiet through the morning and into early afternoon, aside from the intermittent scratch of check-ins and routine responses, standard fare for this outdoorsy college city of about 100,000 in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
That changed just before 2:30 p.m., when the first of what would be an explosion of frantic 911 calls began pouring in. Eyewitnesses reported that a man was shooting at shoppers and store personnel, inside and in the parking lot of a busy south Boulder grocery store.
Moments later, as a killer stalked the aisles and people scrambled across blood-slickened floors looking for escape or a place to hide, the order went out to all units:
“Hold all radio traffic, everybody. Just go.”
Thus it began, another deadly rampage and sorrowful chapter in Colorado's history of mass shootings.
By the time it ended — with a suspect in custody, less than an hour after it had begun — 10 people were dead, including 51-year-old Boulder police officer Eric Talley, who had been among the first officers on scene.
Hundreds of shoppers and workers had been on the property when Monday’s shooting spree began.
Most of the shooting took place in the first 15 minutes after the suspect, identified by police as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, entered the front of the store, said 20-year-old Logan Smith, a barista at the Starbucks inside King Soopers.
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It was an hour of unbridled terror, when the shooter — who was jerky and constantly swiveling his head — came within 13 feet of where Smith and a coworker were hiding.
Smith, who is saving up to buy a car and needed the extra hours, had arrived for his shift two hours early that day, at 10 a.m., to find the coffee shop’s espresso machine down and a repairman working on it. Smith struck up a conversation with the repairman, "a great man," Smith would say later.
The repairman was 23-year-old Neven Stanisic, among the first murdered Monday, at his company van in the parking lot. The vehicle was one of two that had shattered windows, where victims had been gunned down.
That morning, Smith also talked with his coworker Denny Stong about a Civil War reenactment Stong was to participate in on Sunday.
It was a mock battle the 20-year-old Stong would not live to see.
"I did the dumb thing of running out and checking if there was actually gunfire," Smith said. "There was gunfire. I saw the gunman shoot a customer in the back, who was running into the store for safety."
Stong and Smith looked at each other and told each other to run. Smith called 911 and Stong took off running from the coffee kiosk, toward the gunman.
Smith would not see him again.
• • •
Moments after the first emergency dispatch went out, a female Boulder police officer radioed in to say she was in the area.
“Give me the (suspect's) description again.”
“White male, wearing a black vest. He has a beard and dark hair.”
“Alright … looking.”
Less than a minute later: “Party down in front of the store. Does not match the shooter’s description ….”
Then: “Possibly two parties down.”
By that time, multiple 911 calls were coming from inside the store, from people who had barricaded themselves in offices and back rooms.
The unidentified female officer reported that she and fellow officers were making a move.
“Talley … and myself are going in.”
Within minutes of the first shots being fired, Craig McSavaney picked up a call from his daughter.
All he heard were hysterical screams — no words, just his daughter's voice wailing in terror.
After 15 or 30 seconds, he finally understood her: "I can't get through. There's people with guns. There's people with guns everywhere. They're all running towards King Soopers. I don't know what to do. There's gunshots. There's gunshots."
McSavaney's daughter had just pulled into the parking lot when the fusillade erupted, leaving her trapped and unable to throw her car in reverse. She hid there, listening to the gunfire until an officer in tactical gear noticed her and helped her out of her car and across the street to safety.
Logan Smith saw store manager Rikki Olds fall as the gunman opened fire. Smith said he pushed a 69-year-old coworker into a corner of the Starbucks kiosk and covered her with trash can lids, and placed a lid over his own chest.
“My heart was covered,” he would recall.
“I’ve got a party down just inside the doors … shooter IS inside. He just shot at us twice.”
“Where are my officers that are inside?”
“Officer down inside the building.”
A request for mutual aid was issued, drawing every available emergency unit to a staging area set up to treat expected victims.
“We’re sending them all.”
Nine American Medical Response ambulances from the Boulder office were stationed in the King Soopers parking lot for seven hours, said Chris Williams, regional director for Colorado and Wyoming.
Another eight ambulances were on standby in Denver.
Hospitals along Colorado’s Front Range were primed to receive the wounded, Williams said.
“With the scale and size of an event like that — with the potential for mass casualties — they’re ready to go,” he said.
Ultimately, tragically, they would not be needed. The patients never came.
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The 10 victims died on the scene. Only the suspect was injured, presumably by police, and transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Workers didn’t know until the end, though, that no patients would need medical assistance, Williams said.
“Those events are so fast-moving, and you have to wait until the entirety to grasp what happened,” he said. “We train with police and fire and hospitals for stuff like this, but it’s a different scenario when you’re in it.”
• • •
“The local shots being fired at us …"
“I just … another civilian report of a possible three gunmen. I don’t have locations yet.
"I got it. We’re taking multiple rounds.”
“We have rounds, both directions. So far, potentially one gunman armed with a long gun, potentially near the back of the store if we can get some officers to set up at the rear.”
And, around 2:45, as officers formulated a plan to breach the store with an armored vehicle and SWAT teams.
“We need shields. Get them up here. We’ve got to do an officer rescue.”
• • •
Alan Katzker, 47, was in the store's bakery section.
"When you hear an AR-15 go off in a grocery store, it's the loudest sound you could imagine," he said.
Katzker fled among a flood of people rushing for the rear exit. A semi truck blocked the back walkway, forcing him and others to scramble underneath it and run to safety.
Katzker circled around to the front of the store and spent the next hour watching the rampage unfold from an apartment complex across the street.
An armored tactical vehicle used a bludgeoning device to break open the front windows, he said, and an officer yelled over a loudspeaker, "Give yourself up. The building is surrounded. Give yourself up."
"It was something out of a Hollywood movie."
By 3 p.m., officers had made it inside the store and were cautiously combing the aisles searching for the shooter, and a drone was on its way.
“I see no movement, looks like from lanes 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10...partway down 11. We’re secure the rest of the way.”
Teams on the scene announced that they were going to try to talk to the suspect using a Long Range Acoustic Device.
Reports that the suspect was wearing body armor had led to a new directive:
"All units, due to body armor head shots only."
At first, Matthew Copeland, who works in the grocery store’s dairy section, thought someone was dropping boxes outside the front of the store.
He looked over at children playing on the mechanical horse nearby, unperturbed by the strange sound. They didn’t cry. They didn’t react.
Then he heard the first gunshot echo from inside the doorway.
“As soon as he entered the store, we all knew what it was,” Copeland said. “That first pop, we all turned. And then that pop pop.”
Copeland turned and raced to the back door. Normally, an iron bar secured by a padlock keeps the door secured shut during the day, and accessible only with a manger’s key.
But not Monday. To Copeland’s surprise, the door wasn’t locked.
“We would have been fish in a barrel back there,” Copeland said. “I would have had to tell people to hide or fight.”
Instead, he swung open the iron bar and a flood of people rushed past him to safety through the loading dock.
• • •
A dispatcher alerted teams about a call from the alleged suspect, warning police that officers outside the King Soopers "were going to picked off."
"I am assuming that is going to be our suspect. Re-air that for all units to understand he’s probably laying in wait. If we can have everybody...watch all their area of responsibility and stay behind cover.
Meanwhile, at the front of the store, Sarah Moonshadow ducked down with her son at the self-checkout near the west entrance, counting the seconds between each round fired from the other entrance to the east.
Each shot became louder as the gunman approached.
“All I could think of is ‘I got to get my son out of here. I got to make sure my son gets through this,’” Moonshadow said. “And by about the fourth shot, I told my son ‘This is it, we have to run. We have three seconds, we don’t have any other time.’
She felt the concussion of bullets flying past her and hitting items behind her. They ran through the west doors and into the open air of the parking lot.
There, in the middle of the store’s front driveway, a man’s body splayed on the pavement.
“I watched for a while – I was having a hard time even running because I just didn’t want to run away,” said Moonshadow, weeping. “And my son kept pulling me across the parking lot, and I just started screaming ‘Why is this happening? We have to help him. We have to do something.’
“And my son said, ‘There’s nothing we can do; we have to run.’”
They dodged across the street and hid behind a landscaping boulder at the nearby apartment complex as officers swarmed the store.
"I’m with a manager who’s got video feed from inside the store."
"Any intel on the location of the suspect?"
"He does not."
• • •
"Any thoughts of moving this to an encrypted channel. This guy is laughing at us. I bet he’s listening. Thoughts?
"Not now. We’re not going to have any operability."
Then, shortly after 3:30 p.m.: "We’re in contact with possible suspect."
Reports of more than one shooter had been incorrect, but police wouldn't know that, for sure, until later.
Even after police escorted a stripped-down and bloody Alissa into custody, the victims still trapped at King Soopers, and the police who had responded, didn't know whether more horrors lay in wait.
• • •
The grocery store has been a community hub, a place where people stop and chat with employees restocking produce and serving coffee at the indoor Starbucks, neighbors said.
It is where people seek refreshment after hiking nearby Bear Peak and Green Mountain. Children grow up expecting free balloons and cookies from the bakery department.
Later in their teens, they congregate during lunch and on free periods from nearby Fairview High School.
“A lot of students come down here from school to eat,” said one student who wandered over to the shooting site with three friends on Tuesday.
It’s a 15- to 20-minute walk from their school.
Fairview High students were sometimes told by teachers to go to the store in the event a gunman decided to attack their school, said India Gillingham, 21, who graduated from the school a few years ago.
She said that as a student, she feared someone attacking the school — much as gunmen did in Littleton, Parkland, Fla., and several other schools across the country over the last couple decades.
Seeing this once-safe grocery store turned into a battleground has validated those fears, she said.
Pedro Perin, 20, agreed.
“This is like our own backyard,” said Perin, another graduate of the nearby high school. “It’s really unexpected, just because it’s Boulder.”
“This is a peaceful, utopian kind of place,” another teen said. “If it’s going to happen here, it could happen anywhere.”
Several people noted the grace of timing that made this week spring break for Fairview. Otherwise, the store would have had its share of students inside, as normal.
• • •
The Table Mesa neighborhood is usually pretty quiet, said 46-year resident Mike Killion. It’s also affluent in parts, with a swath of wealthier homes, he said.
Earlier in the day the word “Strong” was added after the part of town known as South Boulder, or SoBo, Killion had stopped at the dry cleaners by the King Soopers where he shops regularly.
“I was right next door,” he said. “I knew two of the people who got shot in there.
“It’s real tragic. You never know anymore. You’d never think it would happen in Boulder.”
• • •
Standing at a chain link fence that quickly became covered in flowers in front of the King Soopers, Sebastian Aramendia, 20, wept for the loss of his friend, Denny Stong.
The two became friends in middle school, with the common bond of being "outcasts" who were bullied, he said.
Stong had been working at the grocery store for about two years, often at the self-checkout and on the night shift, Aramendia said. Stong had been saving for school, and bore dreams of someday being a pilot, Aramendia said.
"He was just a good guy," said Aramendia, of Lafayette. "It's hard — he was just very honest and genuine."
Exactly 24 hours after the first shots, he stood at the impromptu chain-link fence circling the bullet-riddled grocery store, gazing rows of flowers placed before it in a makeshift altar to the dead. With its flowers, stuffed animals, cards, signs, candles and other mementos, the fence quickly became dubbed "the wall."
“I’m dumbstruck, mind blown,” Aramendia said. “It just does not seem real.”
A friend joined him at the fence, and as the two embraced in a hug, Aramendia wept, his blue surgical mask soaked through in tears.
“I’m sorry,” Aramendia said.
Moments later, a man across the street sat down and started playing Bach’s cello suite No. 1 in G major, an eery but smooth sound floating above the whimpers of grief.
A man who identified himself as Clint said his girlfriend was among those killed.
He was visibly distraught as he walked along the makeshift memorial.
Clint said he was in the parking lot waiting for bagger Teri Leiker, 51, when the shooting erupted.
Clint watched the gunman bounce from one spot to another, with the popping sound of the gun ringing in his ears. Two victims were killed outside.
“It’s difficult,” Clint said, sobbing. “It’s pretty sad.”
Leiker had worked for Kroger, the parent company of King Soopers, for 31 years and was well-liked among staff and customers. She participated in the University of Colorado’s “Best Buddies” program, which matches student volunteers with developmentally and intellectually disabled adults.
She was remembered for loving her job and having a big smile.
Many people stopped to comfort Clint, who said it helped him to feel the support of those who came to grieve and honor the dead.
But it didn’t take away his pain, he said as he walked away.
Debra Baros, a customer of the Table Mesa grocery store for 30 years, had talked on occasion to Leiker, whom she described as “very helpful and sweet.”
“I saw her many times when she was going to get on the bus,” Baros said. “I thought about offering her a ride, and I never did. That’s a regret.
“I broke down when I heard she died. This is home. This is our community. It hurts.”
His eyes wet with tears, Thomas Windham stood before the store and marveled at the violence.
A Boulder resident of 52 years, Windham has visited the store countless times.
“It’s just crazy,” Windham said. “I’ve been shopping here since they built the store.”
To see the wreckage of a person barreling through with an assault rifle is “like somebody invading your house.”
“It happens everywhere … Boulder is not immune from the triumphs and the tragedies of the world we live in.”
• • •
Many people were astonished by the small twists of fate that kept them from being caught in the hail of gunfire on Monday, adopting a “there but for the grace of God” attitude.
“I could have been here at that time,” said Tony G., who lives in Denver but works in Boulder.
He usually takes a late lunch break and was supposed to get his meal at the King Soopers mid-afternoon on Monday, when the shooting happened.
“But I couldn’t make it,” he said. “It’s fortunate that I’m still here, but it’s an unfortunate scene.”
Tony G. knelt on the asphalt in front of 10 wooden crosses left at the fence, along with 10 vases of flowers with notes saying they were to the families of the victims from King Soopers employees.
Tears streamed down his face.
“I’m just praying for the 10 souls that were lost.”
On the memorial wall, one person plastered their receipt from having visited the store at 2:17 p.m., less than 15 minutes before the gunman opened fire.
“I was there that day,” a sign attached to the receipt said. “It could have been me. It could have been any of us.
“When will this nightmare end?"
Nikki Hanson, 42, said she also had planned on visiting the store around 2:30 p.m., but was delayed at home “by a stupid talk” with her husband.
As she finally approached the grocery store, police officers sped by, en route to the same destination.
“That someone was looking out for me? I honestly don’t have the words,” Hanson said.
As the aftermath of the shooting stretched, thousands of bouquets, from daffodils signifying the promise of spring, to roses, the traditional flower of love, lined the fence and spilled onto the sidewalk. A King Soopers ball cap and clothes from a uniform rested poignantly in a prominent spot. People wrote messages using markers on another set of crosses.
Police blocked one lane of traffic to accommodate what at times was a large crowd of mourners, many who stood, staring at the scattered cars in the parking lot and investigators in booties combing the area for evidence.
Clutching a bouquet of mixed flowers, 25-year-old Jared Gallegos of Lafayette stood for more than an hour on Tuesday gazing at the scene.
He prayed as he watched investigators collect evidence where shoppers’ cars remained trapped.
Rikki Olds, a manager at the store who lost her life in the shooting, was a friend from middle school and high school.
“I felt it was right to come out and show my condolences to her and everyone who lost their lives in this senseless act,” Gallegos said. “I wish there was more I could do, but all I can do is pray and show my love.”
Days later, Lauren Wilson said she can’t believe it really happened.
She and two friends who accompanied her to the memorial went to high school with the youngest victim, 20-year-old Denny Stong.
The trio said they grew up in the neighborhood and go to the King Soopers about once a week. Wilson said she was driving by when she saw police rush to the store and couldn’t tell what was what was going on.
“It’s devastating, absolutely heartbreaking,” Wilson said, crying and hugging her friends. “It’s just a horrible situation.”
A second improvised memorial for Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, the first on the scene and one of the 10 casualties, also has drawn mass attention, in a way countering the unthinkable act of the mass shooting.
Talley’s cruiser sits in front of police headquarters, where a steady stream of people have come to pay their respects and add to a mounting pile of flowers, crosses, balloons, even a teddy bear dressed in a police uniform.
Don Rohacek noticed one of the small American flags planted along the sidewalk was crooked.
He got up from the stool where he was guarding the site and straightened the flag.
When a police officer dies in the line of duty, everyone wants to help, said Rohacek, a volunteer with the Lone Tree Police Department who said he was assisting at the scene through the Aurora Police Department.
“Volunteers are coming from different police departments all over,” he said.
With police facing tough times during the pandemic and political strife, Rohacek was grateful on behalf of fellow law enforcement.
“It starts to restore your faith in humanity when you see the outpouring of support,” he said.
Elaine McCoy had worked at a police department in the past and has been through the difficulty of losing an officer before.
“I just had to bring a little something and say a little prayer,” she said, tying a balloon on Talley’s patrol vehicle.
Talley, 51, was one of the good guys, a family man and father of seven children, a man of faith, said those who knew him.
Many of the first responders at the scene had run calls with Talley.
Some nearby businesses were closed in the days afterward, and others added security guards.
Shop owners and employees in the businesses east of the grocery store described confusion and then a dreaded realization as shots rang out.
Tania Petrulis, owner of Sweet Ruckus, thought the first shots were plywood hitting concrete and dismissed it. But moments later, she recognized them as gunshots, locked her doors and turned off the lights.
Then came a bevy of police officers, some carrying tactical rifles and shields, and some yelling at her to stay inside.
Working at the nearby FedEx shipping store, Sean Gardner, 43, said he dismissed the first pops of gunfire as harmless noise from the back loading docks of King Soopers. But then the shots became louder and more fast-paced — he heard 10 to 20 in all — and a person ran into the store yelling that it was gunfire.
He huddled the back of the store with several otherss, some of whom came running in from outside to escape.
A couple days later, Gardner marveled at the timing of the attack.
He normally buys ginger beer from the grocery store every day, often from a kiosk near where the gunman entered. He thought twice about asking his boss for a break to get it, but customers kept him waiting inside and working.
Had it not been for that busy shift at work, he fears he would have been caught in the crossfire.
“Angels were watching over me, man,” Gardner said. “It hit close to home. It’s going to change my life. I feel like I’m going to be a better person because of it. I feel like I’m already going to be a more loving person because of it.
“Sometimes it takes tragedy to make you feel that way.”
Devin Jamroz, 35, was at a hardware store behind the King Soopers when police ran by, yelling for him to flee a gunman at the nearby grocery store.
The following night, he stood in the dark before the store, his eyes watering and fixed straight ahead at the battered building.
“It feels like a weird snapshot in time – masks and vigils and mass shootings,” Jamroz said. “A sad snapshot.”
“It feels weird that this doesn’t feel so weird — that it doesn’t feel so far from normal,” he said.
• • •
People flocked to several community vigils this past week.
Hundreds showed up at the Boulder County Courthouse Wednesday night, carrying flowers and lighted candles and dressed for cold, snowy weather.
Bathed in purple and blue light, participants hugged, wept and seemed bewildered.
The event evoked memories for new Boulder resident Laurie Viault, who moved to her “dream city” in November.
The daughter of a former colleague of hers was shot three years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., an event that killed 17 people and injured 17 others.
“It’s very emotional for me,” she said.
“This is a safe community full of beautiful people that are full of peace and love of nature and love of life,” she said, before considering her words. “You know, I guess, I’ve got to learn that nowhere is safe, no matter what people want to say. As long as guns exist, we’re not safe anywhere.”
Along with serving as a collective place to grieve and console one another, the “wall” became a political sounding board.
Just beyond lay the crime scene and bullet-riddled store, which reminded Cori Delano, 19, of the Boston Marathon bombing eight years ago. Her brother was down the street when the first explosions sounded and escaped uninjured.
Adam Shi, 19, said his parents live in Atlanta, where six days before the Boulder shooting a string of shootings at three spas killed eight people, six of Asian descent.
He said he wants Congress to pass sweeping gun reform legislation that would mandate universal background checks and ban assault rifles like the one that investigators say the suspect used at King Soopers.
“I just want to see change,” Shi said. “I just don’t want this to happen again.”
Change starts, said Prerana Vishwanath, 16, with “accepting that our lives are more important than … gun rights.”
She and her friends have had close shaves with three mass shootings. Her friends were at the STEM School Highlands Ranch two years ago when a gunman attacked, and her family knew students at Columbine High School during the shooting there in 1999.
“I understand that you need your guns, but we need our lives,” Vishwanath said.
Moonshadow can’t fathom why others at the store wouldn’t have wanted a gun of their own on Monday.
An ardent 2nd Amendment supporter, Moonshadow said she wishes she had had her .380 handgun with her in the store.
“I feel like if I had it, I could have at least fired something — caused some confusion and maybe people could have gotten away, anything,” Moonshadow said.
Having fled for her life from the gunman, she now wishes she could have fought back.
“All that does is prevent people like myself from being able to properly protect ourselves from criminals who don’t care about those laws,” Moonshadow said. “Is murder not against the law in the first place? Do they care?”
As McSavaney picked up his daughter's car on Thursday, which along with other shoppers’ had been trapped in the parking lot since Monday, he shook his head at the senselessness of it all.
He thought back to this month’s attack in Atlanta and another instance on Wednesday of a man being found with several guns in an Atlanta grocery store.
"I'm sickened it happened here" McSavaney said. "I'm sickened it happened last week. I'm sickened it almost happened yesterday.
"We as a country, we have to decide this is not something we're prepared to continue live with."
Alan Katzker, who was in the bakery section when the shooting began, returned Thursday to pick up the vehicle that he had to leave behind.
His next stop: Finishing the grocery run that was cut short on Monday.
But as he left, he couldn't shake the feeling of three days prior.
It all seemed too practiced after so many shootings, and after so many people killed in Colorado over the last 22 years in similar attacks.
"Our society is now kind of trained," Katzker said. "We were exiting at full speed. We were exiting like we had been trained to do that."
Rod Franklin lives just five blocks from one of two memorials erected in honor of the 13 victims of the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton.
He and his mom, Dollee Franklin, felt drawn to the King Soopers memorial and arrived with flowers in hand.
They had bought the bouquet at a King Soopers near their house, where Rod Franklin’s sister-in-law works.
The store was crowded, he said.
“It’s hard, but people are just moving on.”
For the family of coffee machine repairman Neven Stanisic, his death was bitterly, bewilderingly, ironic. They are Serbian refugees who’d fled Bosnia during the violence of the 1990s for a better life.
“I assume the gunman pulled over right next to him, got out of his car and shot Neven,” said the Rev. Radovan Petrovic, the family’s priest at Saint John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church in Lakewood. “He was the first victim, I believe.”
Stanisic’s trip to the King Soopers had been twice postponed.
“If he had been able to go the first time, this wouldn’t have happened to him,” Petrovic told The Gazette.
“There are just seconds in question between life and death,” the priest said. “It’s very difficult in this moment. This has caught us by surprise. We mourn the loss of life.”
Gazette reporters Seth Klamann, David Mullen and Breeanna Jent contributed to this report. Recordings from Broadcastify were used in the creation of this story.
The handcuffs used to arrest the suspect accused in Monday's mass shooting belonged to the police officer killed in the attack, the Boulder Police Department tweeted Thursday.
According to the department, officers told the suspect as they arrested him the handcuffs belonged to officer Eric Talley.
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Talley, 51, was one of the first officers on scene at the King Soopers in response to the attack. He appears to have died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the suspect's arrest affidavit.
It was our distinct honor to use Officer Talley’s handcuffs to formally process him into the jail. Though this was a small gesture, we hope it is the start of the healing process that so many of us need at this time. Officer Talley’s handcuffs are seen here 2/2 #BoulderStrong
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) March 25, 2021
"It was our distinct honor to use Officer Talley's handcuffs to formally process him into the jail. Though this was a small gesture, we hope it is the start of the healing process that so many of us need at this time," the tweet reads.
Talley joined the department in 2010. On Wednesday afternoon, a formal procession led the hearse carrying his body out of Boulder to a funeral home in Aurora.
Prosecutors have formally charged the 21-year-old suspect with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Thursday morning that prosecutors expect to eventually file additional charges.
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Prosecutors have formally charged the man accused of opening fire Monday at a Boulder King Soopers with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
They said Thursday morning they eventually plan to file more charges. Defense attorneys indicated they are evaluating the suspect's mental health.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, has been in custody since Monday and made his first court appearance Thursday.
He is being held on suspicion of the shooting attack at the King Soopers at South Broadway and Table Mesa Drive. Authorities have not commented on a possible motive.
According to court documents, Alissa faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The charges filed Wednesday say Alissa faces the latter charge for attempting to kill officer Richard Steidell.
Defense attorneys did not give specific details of Alissa's mental illness they referenced in Thursday's hearing, but said they will need to go through prosecutors' evidence to assess its "needs and depth."
As of Thursday, Alissa's defense attorneys have not officially raised the issue of competency.
However, if the judge orders a competency review, the case will be put on hold while the defendant is evaluated by state mental health experts.
The reviews usually occur at the Colorado State Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, but can also take place in a jail where the defendant is being held.
If state experts conclude Alissa is mentally competent for prosecution — meaning he has a rational understanding of the charges and can assist in his defense — his attorneys would be entitled to a second evaluation by an expert of their choosing.
The judge ultimately weighs the evaluations and will make the final decision about whether Alissa is mentally fit.
In the case of Leticia Stauch, the El Paso County woman charged with first-degree murder in the January 2020 slaying of her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon, a competency issue took nearly eight months to resolve before a judge deemed her mentally fit for trial.
Defendants deemed incompetent can be held indefinitely under first-degree murder charges while they seek treatment meant to restore their competency.
Competency relates to the defendant’s current mental state. It is a different issue from sanity, someone’s ability to judge right from wrong at the time of a crime.
Alissa's defense attorneys said he is willing to waive his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days.
They requested a pretrial status hearing in about three months and said Alissa understands he will continue being held without bond in the meantime.
Judge Thomas Mulvahill agreed to grant a status hearing in 60 to 90 days before scheduling a preliminary hearing or a proof evident presumption great hearing.
For a judge to deny a defendant bail, prosecutors have to show the proof is evident or the presumption is great that the defendant committed the crime.
The next status hearing hasn't been scheduled. Judge Ingrid Bakke will preside over the case.
The victims ranged in age from 20 to 65, according to information released by authorities. Alissa allegedly opened fire shortly after 2:30 p.m. Monday. By 3:30 p.m., police took him into custody.
By that point, Alissa had removed clothing and a tactical vest he wore, and was dressed only in shorts, according to the arrest affidavit.
He suffered a gunshot wound to his upper right thigh.
The affidavit states he did not appear to police under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16, six days before the shooting, according to investigators.
Gazette reporter Lance Benzel contributed to this report.
Andy Arellanl was supposed to get off work at King Soopers at 2:30 p.m. Monday, but decided to stay an extra 15 minutes to let his boss take a lunch break.
That decision nearly cost him his life.
Shortly after 2:30 is when authorities say a 21-year-old Arvada man with a semi-automatic gun entered the store at South Broadway and Table Mesa and killed 10 people, including a Boulder police officer.
Moments later Arellanl's manager ran toward him and ordered everyone in the meat and seafood department to evacuate immediately.
"If it weren't for my manager, you would've heard my name on the news," Arellanl told TheDenver Gazette Thursday as he picked up his vehicle that sat in the parking lot since Monday, cordoned off by police tape and a makeshift fence.
Employees and shoppers never thought the terror that unfolded Monday afternoon would happen within the "Boulder bubble." Some had just pulled into the parking lot to get ingredients for a Monday night calzone feast, while others filled bags for the grocery delivery service Instacart. Each had a different reason for going to the store that day, but survivors of the attack now all share scars.
The people inside the store that afternoon “are experiencing trauma. Those of us on the outside are experiencing grief at this point, and sorrow and loss,” said Jeff Hooker, 62, who worked in the store’s receiving department.
“It’s a different dimension for the people that were actually there.”
Boulder's grief spills over into public vigils, procession
Hooker had Monday off. But he drove to King Soopers that afternoon anyway intending to bring some homemade bread – a hobby he picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic – to the store’s manager and assistant manager.
He never made it.
Hooker said he was a few hundred feet away from turning to the store parking lot when he saw police. He figured he didn’t need to get in the way, so he went back home, only about five minutes away. He soon started learning from coworkers and friends what was happening.
He said he “100%” feels like Monday afternoon was a near miss for him.
“It’s a frightening thing to think about. I didn’t want to be a part of that,” Hooker said.
Neven Sloan was shopping with his wife, Quinlyn, and after the shooting began they separated from each other, though within seconds they reunited and escaped through the back door.
Without hesitation, Sloan told The Gazette, he went back inside to try to save as many people as possible.
"I just remember feeling compelled to go back and try and get as many people out as possible," Sloan said. "It was kind of wild and shocking that there were gunshots happening, but I felt the need to help others."
Boulder resident Sarah Moonshadow was using the self-checkout near the store entrance when the shooting started.
"I feel like I'm still stuck in there trying to figure out what I'm going to do to save my son," she said.
Although many survivors fled the store as fast as they could get out, some like Will Williamson and Moonshadow had to worry about their dogs still locked inside their cars.
"I just waited because my dog was in my truck, and I wasn't leaving until I got my dog out, and it wasn't until four hours later that a female officer took my keys and brought (Dash) to me," Williamson said.
Moonshadow's pit bull, "Mr. Beefy," had a decidedly different experience. Officers initially mistook the dark-colored three-year-old dog for a person hiding in the back of Moonshadow’s Chevrolet Tahoe.
"They surrounded him and pointed their guns at him, and he's traumatized and affected like everyone else," Moonshadow said.
Moonshadow reunited with Mr. Beefy later that night after the shelter she got the dog from received Moonshadow from the authorities.
Hooker said employees have been supporting each other, offering food, rides, and whatever else people might need to help them cope in the aftermath of the terror. For his part, Hooker has continued making bread for people.
“I like to share my bread with other people, because with bread you can make friends,” he said. “That’s why I was taking bread to the manager and assistant manager, because they really like it.”
While everyone near and inside the King Soopers on Monday has a different story, Arellanl says there's only one reason he and everyone else survived.
"God was with us," Arellanl said.
King Soopers Thursday announced it is donating $1 million to a fund helping the families of the Boulder shooting victims.
The donation to the Colorado Healing Fund will be made through the parent company Kroger’s public charity, according to a Thursday release.
“The entire King Soopers family continues to mourn the loss of those who were victims of this senseless act of violence,” said Steve Burnham, President of King Soopers/City Market, in a statement. “We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our fellow Coloradans, and we thank everyone for their incredible kindness.”
Boulder mosque launches national victims' family fund
Ten people were gunned down Monday at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive, including a Boulder Police officer. The suspect is being held without bail at the Boulder County Sheriff’s jail and facing 10 counts of first-degree murder.
A group of victims advocates and community leaders established the non-profit fund in 2018 to “establish a secure way for the public to contribute to the victims of mass casualty crimes in Colorado.”
King Soopers customers can also help, by rounding up grocery bills at the checkout stand or making a direct donation. They can also donate by texting BoulderSTrong to 243752, or via coloradohealingfund.org.
The store will not reopen until the police investigation is complete, according to the Thursday news release.
The company is also helping its employees in the following ways:
- Access to mental health services
- Emergency paid leave for those “directly affected by the tragedy”
- An associate hotline to answer questions or assist with “ongoing concerns”
- Money to all victims’ families “to support funeral expenses”
Employees said store officials offered them jobs at other area stores if they wanted to return to work.
“During this unprecedented time, our most urgent priority is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, and we will continue to make decisions that best support their needs,” Burnham said in a statement. “The Boulder King Soopers store will remain closed until the police investigation is complete. We are committed to helping the community grieve and heal from this tragic event.”
A spokeswoman declined to answer questions re-opening – or even if it will re-open. There was also no information about increased security measures in King Soopers stores, though an armed guard was posted at the Lafayette King Soopers that hadn’t been there before Monday.
Members of the Boulder community gathered Thursday night to remember the 10 lives lost during the shooting at King Soopers earlier this week. The vigil was organized by Moms Demand Action. (Video by Katie Klann)
U.S Rep. Joe Neguse and more than 60 House Democrats asked President Joe Biden on Thursday to halt importation of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, citing Monday's deadly shooting at a Boulder supermarket as a reason for the president to act "immediately" rather than wait for gun control legislation.
"As our nation battles the health and economic crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we simultaneously must combat the persistent and rising violence caused by access to dangerous firearms," reads a letter organized by Neguse and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois.
"Banning the import of these weapons will lessen the devastating impact of gun violence in communities across our nation."
Weapon in Boulder massacre slides under federal regulations
Neguse represents Boulder, where an alleged gunman killed 10 people Monday at a King Soopers supermarket. Authorities say the suspect purchased a semi-automatic Ruger AR-556 six days before the massacre.
The lawmakers — including Colorado Democrats Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Ed Perlmutter, who were among the House members signing the letter — urge Biden to issue an executive order under the Gun Control Act of 1968, action taken by both Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Biden pledged during the 2020 presidential campaign to ban imports of the weapons while Congress worked to pass legislation
On Tuesday, Biden called on Congress to pass expanded background checks and reinstate a ban on on assault-style weapons that expired more than 15 years ago. But Republican opposition in the Senate stands to block the passage of any legislation.
Biden said Thursday during his first press conference that he intends to take action on gun safety measures including legislation to establish firearms manufacturer liability and a potential executive order banning so-called "ghost guns," including guns built using 3-D printing technology.
"All of the above. It is a matter of timing," Biden said in response to a question about gun policy and then pivoted to lengthy remarks about his infrastructure proposal.
Neguse, McBath call on Biden to name gun violence prevention czar
The letter sent Thursday from Neguse and the other Democrats also reiterated a request for the Biden administration to appoint a gun violence prevention czar.
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Trial court judge assigned to Boulder murder case a 'respectful, intelligent' jurist
A judge who has spent a decade on the bench, and got approval from 86% of Boulder County for another term on the bench last fall, will now handle what is likely the highest-profile case of her career: the trial of the man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers this week.
Boulder District Court Judge Ingrid S. Bakke appointed to the bench by Gov. Bill Ritter, in 2011, became the chief judge in the 20th Judicial District following the 2017 retirement of now-Supreme Court Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter.
"I really can't think of a better judicial officer to preside over a case like this," said Stan Garnett, the former district attorney in Boulder County. During Garnett's tenure, he prosecuted the well-publicized attempted murder case against Dynel Lane, and he described the judge's responsibilities during a trial.
"Part of what Judge Bakke will be doing is making sure evidence is presented efficiently, and also one of the judge's responsibilities in a case like this is to make sure the jury is treated fairly and appropriately," Garnett added.
Bakke, a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Denver's law school, has worked as chief deputy district attorney in Boulder and as a deputy district attorney for Jefferson County. Before donning a black robe, she also worked in private practice including defending clients in court.
During the 2020 judicial retention cycle, the citizen-led commission that evaluates judges' performance unanimously supported Bakke, finding 97% of attorney and 100% of non-lawyer survey respondents believed she met performance standards.
"Judge Bakke’s demeanor is respectful, intelligent, compassionate and patient. She manages trials well and pays close attention to the personal circumstances and needs of all litigants," the commission wrote in its narrative to voters. "She demonstrates a good sense of humor that helps to put participants in her courtroom at ease."
The commission also complimented her handling of the pandemic in the court system as chief judge.
Bakke, who often speaks at schools and judges mock trial competitions, also presided over the 2016 trial of a man convicted of killing a Colorado State Patrol cadet in 2015. She sentenced that defendant to life in prison. That same year, she sentenced a Longmont man to two years in community corrections — Colorado's term for a halfway house — for shooting his pit bull in the head.
“There is no justification for some sort of rogue euthanasia,” Bakke said, calling the animal cruelty offense "pointless" and “senseless."
The suspect charged in the King Soopers murders has not yet entered a plea, but attorneys have suggested the case will likely end in a jury trial.
The man accused of shooting and killing 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder on Monday had legally purchased a Ruger AR-556 firearm six days earlier.
Alleged gunman Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, of Arvada, was found guilty of third-degree assault as a high school senior in 2018 after punching and kicking a fellow student in a classroom after being called “racial names,” according to a police affidavit.
Alissa’s 2018 assault charge was a misdemeanor.
But most misdemeanors don't stop you from getting a firearm, said Paul Paradis, owner of Paradise Sales gun shop west of downtown Colorado Springs.
“For society, it is a warning sign that maybe we’ve got to sit down with this kid and figure out what is going on to see if we have a problem.”
Anyone wanting to purchase a gun in Colorado is required to fill out a firearms transaction record. The information is submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, where a local background check is done. A national background check is done through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On an average day, Paradis said there are 100 to 150 people awaiting a background check, but that the number can vary widely throughout a given day.
“In good times it could take 15 to 30 minutes for it to go through,” Paradis said Wednesday. “Right now there are about 2,200 people waiting, so it is taking two to three days for a background check to be done.”
Once an individual’s background check has been approved, they can return to the store and sign for their gun.
Paradis has processed more than 30,000 background checks and said that roughly one in 50 comes back denied. Customers can appeal the denial, and Paradis sees about one in six appeals overturned.
Some of the reasons for a denial include a felony conviction, a dishonorable discharge from the military, a domestic violence misdemeanor or drug use, including those with a medical marijuana card who smoke pot.
Last year, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation performed more than 500,000 background checks for gun sales, the most in state history, according to the CBI.
Hundreds lined up along a 3-mile stretch of Foothills Parkway Wednesday afternoon to bid Officer Eric Talley a final farewell.
Some sat in their cars, while others stood on the side of the road saluting, waving flags and waving goodbye as Talley's body was escorted to an Aurora funeral home by over 20 patrol units and a fire truck.
The procession in #Boulder is underway pic.twitter.com/J6Zl2pgfjW
— David Mullen (@mullen_david) March 24, 2021
Boulder High School Senior Jai Bergstein stood alongside Foothills Parkway waving his "back the blue" American flag, saying he had to show respect to his friend.
"I just want to show my support, you know — he's a great man, super strong and has seven kids," Bergstein said. "I just want to come out here and show my appreciation for what he's done, and hopefully we don't have to have another one."
Talley was one of the 10 people killed during a mass shooting at a King Soopers in south Boulder on Monday. He was the first to respond to the incident and lone officer to lose his life.
For Longmont resident Alana Davis-Delaria, Monday's shooting hit close to home in multiple ways, as she works in Boulder and is married to a police officer. Davis-Delaria said she wanted to show her support to the community and Talley's family.
"As someone who cares a lot about law enforcement, I had to pay my respects for an officer who has served Boulder really well, as he leaves the city for the final time," Davis-Delaria said.
Although the day was a somber farewell to Talley, Longmont resident Rebecca Rademacher said she needed to bring her kids to uplift the police department during a tragic time.
"It's depressing, it's sad, and if I'm feeling like this, I can only imagine what his family and other officers are feeling," Rademacher said. Boulder police "need all the uplifting they can get, so we decided to show our support and say 'we're here for you.'"
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said the support the department and community has received has been unbelievable.
"I'm overwhelmed by the support, not only the police department is getting, but the families of the victims, and it just goes to show you that when it's all said and done, a sense of community is probably one of the most important things you can have," Herold told The Denver Gazette alongside Foothills Parkway Wednesday.
"I can't thank everybody enough. It just means so much."
The weapon identified in court documents from the Boulder attack is an AR-556 pistol. And calling it a pistol makes a big difference in how that weapon is taxed and regulated.
Here are some details:
• It doesn't look like a pistol
The pistol manufactured by Ruger is a trimmed-down version of the popular AR-15 style rifle, which is essentially a semiautomatic version of the Army's M-4 carbine.
• It can be used like a rifle
Equipped from the factory with what can function as a collapsible butt stock, the pistol could be fired from the shoulder. On its website, though, Ruger calls that stock a "pistol stabilizing brace," which can rest against the shooter's forearm.
The pistol version of the AR-556 has a 10-inch barrel, six inches shorter than the firm's rifle variant. Like the rifle, the pistol fires standard .223 caliber ammunition, the same round used in the Army's M-16 and M-4 rifles.
• Lighter not cheaper
The 6-pound weapon retails for $899, $100 more than its rifle cousin. At the same time, it's compact, similar to military weapons designed for use in vehicles and urban warfare.
• So, why isn't it a rifle?
In 2011, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ruled that versions of the AR-15 designed to be used as pistols aren't subject to regulations and taxes imposed on "short-barreled rifles."
The "pistol stabilizing brace" not being called a rifle stock makes a massive regulatory difference.
• Why the worry about small rifles?
Rifles with barrels shorter than 16 inches have been under federal restrictions since the 1930s, when Congress stepped in with gun control measures designed to curtail the excesses of the Chicago mob after the famed St. Valentines Day massacre tied to Al Capone. The mafia liked short barreled rifles because they could be hidden under a jacket while still packing the killing power of a rifle.
The laws imposed a $200 tax and federal licensing requirements on owners of short-barreled rifles. Owners of the those compact rifles are required to get the same kind of license required for owners of machine guns. Civilians can qualify for that license as collectors, and it's relatively cheap at $30 for the application $10 annual renewal fees.
• Why is a federal license such a big deal?
The federal license comes with significant paperwork and a thorough background check. And as part of the application process, a visit by a local ATF agent is required. And by having the collector license, you must allow the ATF to enter your house on demand to check "inventory and records" anytime they wish. No warrant is required.
• What calling it a pistol is worth
Under ATF's pistol designation, getting the AR-556 doesn't require a federal license, and it gets a $195 tax break.
It carries the same regulations as other pistols, including a background check on buyers. But unless a user wants to carry it as a concealed weapon, no license is required in Colorado.
• What does Colorado regulate?
Colorado requires background checks for firearms buyers and does regulate the capacity of magazines retailers can sell, with a 15-round limit.
Those who owned magazines of larger sizes before the 2013 law was passed were allowed to keep them. But importing high-capacity magazines into Colorado, selling them here or transferring them is illegal.
A group that calls itself "the Conscience of the Republican Party" claimed Tuesday that recent mass shootings are part of a Marxist plot for gun control.
"It would seem 'mass shooting incidents' are resuming... Just in time to provide the basis for a propaganda-blitz in support of disarming innocent people," according to the Facebook post on Tuesday from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Colorado. The post was published less than 24 hours after the shooting at a south Boulder King Soopers that killed 10 people, including Officer Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder Police Department.
"The timing of these things is suspicious, to say the least," according to the Facebook post published around 2 p.m. Tuesday. "That may seem horrifically cynical, but there is good reason for suspicion with the Marxist Party in power. Their campaign to disarm Americans is a cornerstone of of their Utopian vision."
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The Republican Liberty Caucus of Colorado has been led by Sue Moore of Englewood since Oct. 2017. Moore is a former chair of the Denver GOP.
Other officers include Vice Chair Karl Honegger of Broomfield, Treasurer Steve Dorman of Lakewood and Secretary Jecca Geffre of Aurora.
The Facebook post is unsigned.
The post doesn't identify the "Marxists" but claims "their campaign to disarm the citizenry requires the fact-warping propaganda-blitz generated by numerous mass-shooting incidents. Just as their campaign to codify anti-white racism required legitimizing riots, arson, looting and a fact-warping propaganda-blitz about cops. Would the Marxists actively facilitate these incidents by releasing murderers? It's not possible to know."
The post concluded with "having discarded moral foundation, there is NO ACT too evil, cruel or inhumane to commit in pursuit of a 'greater good' that is defined in statistical (collective) rather than human terms. Our government is in the hands of Collectivists. Suspicion is appropriate."
The Republican Liberty Caucus is best known for its annual Liberty scorecard, compiled by the caucus officers plus former state Sen. Tim Neville of Littleton; Susan Kochevar of Commerce City and attorney Paul Cohen, according to the organization's website. The scorecard rates Colorado lawmakers on conservative metrics on a scale of 1 to 100. Democrats usually receive ratings at 20 or below; Republican ratings are usually in the 70s or higher, although in 2021 a handful of Republicans got marks at 60 or below.
The highest rated Republican in 2021 is Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, at 93; second is Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, at 91.
The state Republican Party did not respond to an email seeking comment. The Liberty Caucus claims it assists the state party with recruiting candidates.
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Haunted by mass violence, Colorado confronts painful history
Scenes from across Boulder, Colo. on March 24, 2021 as the community mourned the events that took place on Monday afternoon. A 21-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire in the store, killing 10 people. (Video by Skyler Ballard)
DENVER — Dawn Reinfeld moved to Colorado 30 years ago to attend college in the bucolic town of Boulder. Enchanted by the state's wide-open spaces, she stayed.
But, in the ensuing decades, dark events have clouded her view of her adopted home. The 1999 massacre at Columbine High School. The 2012 massacre at the Aurora movie theater. On Wednesday, Reinfeld was reeling from the latest mass shooting even closer to home, after authorities say a 21-year-old gunned down shoppers at a local grocery store.
“I could see at some point leaving because of all this,” said Reinfeld, a gun control activist. “It's an exhausting way to live.”
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Colorado has long been defined by its jagged mountains and an outdoor lifestyle that lure transplants from around the country. But it's also been haunted by shootings that have helped define the nation's decades-long struggle with mass violence. The day after the latest massacre, many in the state were wrestling with that history — wondering why the place they live seems to have become a magnet for such attacks. Why here — again?
“People now say, ‘gee, what is it about Colorado?’” said Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine High School in 1999.
Mauser, now a gun control advocate, was fielding phone calls in the wake of the new attack — among them was a panicked call from a friend whose daughter was shopping in the supermarket and just escaped the shooting. Again, the violence felt so close.
“It just effects so many people. It's become pervasive,” he said.
Colorado isn't the state with the most mass shootings — it ranks eighth in the nation, in the same tier as far larger states like California and Florida, according to Jillian Peterson, a criminology professor at Hamline University in Minnesota.
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But it is indelibly associated with some of the most high-profile shootings. The massacre at Columbine High School is now viewed as the bloody beginning of a modern era of mass violence. The Aurora shooting brought that terror from schools to a movie theater.
And there are others with less national prominence. In 2006, a gunman killed a 16-year-old girl after storming a high school in the mountain town of Bailey. The next year, a gunman killed four people in two separate attacks on evangelical Christian churches in suburban Denver and Colorado Springs. Three people died during a 2015 attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. In 2017, three people were killed at a Walmart by a shooter whose motives were never known. In 2019, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo was killed fending off an armed attack by two classmates at a suburban Denver high school.
The search for answers leaves no easy explanations. Despite its Western image, Colorado has a fairly typical rate of gun ownership for the country, and its populated landscape has more shopping centers than shooting ranges. It's close to the middle of the pack in terms of its rate of all types of gun violence — 21st in the country, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Peterson, who has written about mass shootings as a viral phenomenon where one gunman is inspired by coverage of other attacks, says the Columbine attack may be one reason Colorado has suffered so much. Two student gunmen killed 13 and “created the script” that many other mass shooters seek to emulate. The attackers died in the massacre but landed on the cover of Time Magazine and were memorialized in movies and books.
“Columbine was the real turning point in this country, so it makes sense that, in Columbine's backyard, you'd see more of them,” Peterson said.
The attack was nearly a generation ago — the man police named Tuesday as the gunman in the Boulder massacre, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, was born three days before the Columbine shooting.
Like many young Coloradans, Esteban Luevano, 19, only learned about Columbine in school, as a tragedy that occurred before he was born. But its long shadow terrified him as a child who wondered whether gunmen could storm his school, too.
Then, when Luevano was 11, another gunman opened fire at a movie theater near his house in Aurora, east of Denver and on the opposite side of the metro area from Columbine's leafy suburbs. Twelve people were killed and 70 wounded.
The theater was remodeled after the attack. It sat empty on Tuesday, shuttered during the pandemic, as snow began to swirl and Luevano bundled up to head into a mall across the street. He was still reeling from the idea that the latest Colorado community to join the grim brotherhood was the tony, college town of Boulder.
“It's pretty fancy, so it kind of shocked me that someone would shoot out there,” Luevano said.
Colorado has taken some action to restrict access to guns.
After each of Colorado's biggest massacres, the local gun control movement has gained heartbroken new recruits. Survivors of Columbine and family of the victims there helped push a ballot measure that required background checks for guns purchased at gun shows. After the Aurora attack, the state's newly Democratic Legislature passed mandatory background checks for all purchases and a 15-round limit for magazines.
Those measures led to the recall of two state senators, but the laws endured. After the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida, the Colorado Legislature passed laws allowing for the confiscation of guns from people engaged in threatening behavior. There has been rebellion from some rural sheriffs, but no recalls now.
Three years ago, the city of Boulder went further and banned assault weapons. A court blocked the measure just 10 days before Monday's rampage.
Gun control activists say one place to observe the impact of mass shootings is in the state's politics. The Republican congressman who represented Aurora was replaced in 2018 by Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, a gun control proponent. In November, the Democratic governor who signed the post-Aurora gun control measures, John Hickenlooper, won a U.S. Senate seat from Colorado's last major statewide elected Republican.
Still, the appetite for gun rights supporters has not dissipated completely. Coloradans last year also elected Lauren Boebert, a Republican from a rural district who said she wanted to carry a firearm on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Democrat Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed during the Aurora shooting, was elected to a previously-Republican state house district in 2018. On Monday afternoon, he was out with a friend and didn't hear about the latest attack until he came home.
When he did, he turned on the television to watch, something he described as a “pause” to take in all the pain and life stories of the victims.
“It's not that we're numb to this, it's that we have a lot of practice,” Sullivan said in an interview.
Sullivan argued that Colorado doesn't have an unusually high number of mass shootings. It's just that the relatively wealthy state's backdrop makes the attacks more sensational. “The ones that are happening here in Colorado are happening in a little more affluent areas,” Sullivan said. “It's happening in other places, too, we just can't get people to report on that.”
Not all touched by the state's history of massacres have become gun control backers. Brian Rohrbough, whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine, said he gets frustrated every time political activists pick up the issue after massacres. Instead, the solution is moral education, he argues.
“We're reaping what we've sown because we're afraid, as a state, as a country, to call evil evil,” Rohrbough said.
___
This story has been corrected to state that the Aurora theater was remodeled after the attack, not torn down and rebuilt.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert drew criticism Tuesday after the Silt Republican sent a fundraising email Monday as a mass shooting unfolded at a Boulder supermarket, asking supporters for campaign donations to help keep "radical liberals" from taking guns away from law-abiding Americans.
"I will fight this new attack on our sacred rights with everything I have," Boebert said in the email, which was obtained by Colorado Politics.
According to a time-stamp on the email, it was sent by her re-election campaign around 5 p.m. Tuesday, roughly two hours after police surrounded a Boulder King Soopers following reports of an active shooter at the store. Hours later, authorities announced 10 people had been killed and a suspect was in custody.
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Republican Boebert, the owner of Shooters Grill, a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, has made her unyielding defense of the Second Amendment and fondness for firearms — including the kind of semi-automatic rifle authorities say was wielded by the alleged Boulder gunman — central to her political identity.
She opened the fundraising mail with a reference to the headline-making 2019 exchange with Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke that helped propel the first-time candidate to an upset congressional win.
"I told Beto 'HELL NO' to taking our guns," the email read. "Now we need to tell Joe Biden."
After asking supporters to "pitch in" various amounts, Boebert 's email continued: "They want to defund our police. Then they want to take our guns. What do we think comes next? We cannot lose this fight."
An hour before sending the fundraising email, Boebert tweeted: "As we continue to hear the news coming out of Boulder. I'm praying for the police, first responders, and those affected by this tragedy. May God be with us as we make sense of this senseless violence, and may we unify and not divide during this time."
Boebert's campaign didn't respond to an inquiry from Colorado Politics about the content or timing of the fundraising email, which was posted online Monday night by journalist David Gura.
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The reaction on social media to Boebert's appeal for campaign cash was harsh.
"You sent a fundraising email exploiting the tragedy two hours after it happened you hypocritical ghoul," tweeted Ian Silverii, executive director of liberal ProgressNow Colorado, replying to Boebert on Twitter.
"Boebert is fundraising on FREEDOM TO OWN GUNS," tweeted Linda Zagraniczny. "No character and no morals and no remorse and no scruples."
"Already fundraising off of this tragedy," wrote Twitter user ced25, who urged people who were "sick of this" to follow one of the Democrats already lining up to challenge Boebert in next year's election."
Tuesday morning, after authorities identified the suspect in the rampage and released the names of the victims, Boebert issued a lengthy statement saying that she "refused" to use the massacre to "advance a political agenda," though she claimed that some already were.
"I will not blame society at large for the sick actions of one man and I will not allow lawbreakers to dictate the rights of law-abiding citizens," Boebert said.
Later Tuesday, she criticized President Joe Biden for "wast[ing] no time politicizing the attack in Boulder" by calling for Congress to pass bills expanding background checks on firearms purchasers and reinstating a ban on assault rifles that expired in 2004.
A co-chairwoman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, Boebert hasn't been shy about her agenda, from appearing at a rally to overturn Colorado's red flag law the day she announced her campaign, to posting a combative campaign video declaring she planned to carry a handgun while walking around in Washington, D.C.
What we know:
Overview: A gunman fatally shot 10 people inside and outside a King Soopers store at 3600 Table Mesa Dr. in Boulder between 2:39 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Victims: The 10 victims have been identified as Denny Stong, 20; Nevin Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Eric Talley, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
Suspect: Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was arrested by police at the store Monday afternoon on suspicion of 10 counts of murder. Alissa is an Arvada resident.
Weapons: Police describe two firearms used in the shooting, resembling a rifle and handgun. According to the arrest affidavit, one was a Ruger AR-556 rifle that Alissa had bought six days prior to the shooting.
Arrest: According to the arrest affidavit, Alissa was shot through the upper right thigh by police and then appeared to willingly surrender, removing all of his clothes except for his boxers and putting down his weapons before walking backwards towards a SWAT team.
Next steps: Alissa is scheduled to appear in court Thursday at 8:15 a.m. Numerous officials including Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser have promised to use every possible resource to achieve justice in the legal process.
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What we don’t know:
Motive: Police have not released any information about Alissa’s possible motive, or if he is connected to King Soopers or any of the victims. Witnesses reported Alissa did not say anything before firing.
Why that King Soopers: Alissa lives in Arvada, blocks away from grocery stores, including another King Soopers. It is unknown why he chose to drive to this particular King Soopers in Boulder to carry out the attack.
Timeline: The order of events has not been made clear. However, according to witness statements, Alissa shot multiple victims in the King Soopers parking lot before entering or reentering the store. The arrest affidavit said he was spotted in the refrigerated section and then exiting toward Broadway. Some witnesses said Alissa shot one victim at the self-checkout and another in line at the pharmacy.
Potential sentence: Colorado eliminated the death penalty in 2020, but the federal government still maintains capital punishment, which could become a factor if U.S. prosecutors bring charges against Alissa. In Colorado, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.
Alissa: Little is known about the alleged shooter. On his now-deleted Facebook page, Alissa claims to have attended Metropolitan State University but representatives from the Denver school said he has never been a student there. His Facebook posts mentioned praising Allah, kickboxing, UFC fights and wanting a girlfriend. Court records show he was arrested in Arvada in 2017 for third-degree assault after punching one of his classmates for allegedly making fun of him and calling him racial names. Some of Alissa’s former classmates have described him as a normal kid. His older brother told The Daily Beast he is anti-social, paranoid and mentally ill.
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Boulder processing shock, grief from Monday's shooting rampage
For Anna Haynes, a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder, Monday was looking like another normal, boring day: She thought about her upcoming midterm and settled into her living room with a bagel and a lineup of YouTube videos when she heard a bang.
Assuming it was firework or a car backfiring, she ignored the sound, she said. And then she heard 10 more. With curiosity peaked, Haynes walked to her living room window to investigate, looking into the parking lot of the nearby King Soopers grocery store.
That’s when she saw the shooter.
“He was going up to the store entrance and he turned around and had a gun,” Haynes said. "He shot in one specific area below him many times in a row. I couldn’t see what he was shooting at but … I believe it was a person. Then I saw a man lying in the middle of the parking lot who I later found out was dead.”
Though she didn’t know it at the time, Haynes witnessed a mass shooting incident that killed 10 people at the store at 3600 Table Mesa Dr.
“I just froze. I stood there unable to move for at least five minutes,” Haynes said. “Once I snapped out of it, I went to my roommate’s room and pulled her out of her Zoom class. We both went to the window and looked and that’s what we did for the next six, seven hours. Just stared out of that window.”
While no one affiliated with CU was killed in the shooting, numerous people from the university live, work and shop in the area that is only two miles away from campus. That proximity had left many CU students reeling.
Sarah Okeefe and Maura Kieft, two CU students, stood outside of the King Soopers in tears Tuesday afternoon, reflecting on the countless times they had shopped there.
They said they first learned about the shooting Monday when friends and family began calling them asking if they were inside the store. They then spent the rest of the day in horror, watching news reports and livestreams of the shooting.
“It makes it a lot more real when it’s down the street from you and it could be anyone you know,” Okeefe said. “It’s just not fair. Everyone here is so close and kind and friendly. You see the same people working every time you go in.”
“Everyone in this community is tight. Something like this shocks everyone here,” Kieft said. “In a place like Boulder, we call it a bubble and you never expect it to pop.”
CU Boulder senior Shane Wisneski said the incident was eerily familiar to him as a former Aurora resident who lived next to the Century 16 Movie Theater during the 2012 mass shooting that killed 12 people.
“This is the second city I’ve ever lived in and the second time I’ve lived five minutes from a mass shooting," he said. "I just can’t believe that we go through this so frequently but no one in state or federal government does anything about it.”
Wisneski said he is shaken as a grocery store worker as well, as he is set to start a new job at a Whole Foods Market that shares a parking lot with the King Soopers.
“It’s going to impact us on campus for a while,” Wisneski said. “But I think it’ll sadly fade like any other shooting. We’re all so numb to this now and it's terrifying to think that.”
CU Boulder urged students to seek counseling and therapy services. The university also canceled Monday evening classes but continued to hold classes Tuesday and for the rest of the week – a decision criticized by some students.
“It’s astounding to me that CU Boulder is holding classes today less than 24 hours after a mass shooting just down the street that killed 10 people,” said CU senior Rob Tann. “There’s no time or space to grieve.”
University officials defended their decision to hold classes Tuesday afternoon, saying they wanted to foster a sense of community during a difficult time.
“During this semester in particular, we are concerned about isolation and loneliness,” said CU Chancellor Philip DiStefano. “We asked our faculty to continue to hold class, even if optional, so that they can be there for students, to provide space and to listen.”
“A lot of today is just realizing, truly realizing what happened and what I saw,” Haynes said. “That this happened outside of my window and I saw it.”
While many CU students have spoken out about not getting adequate time off following the shooting, others are also calling for the university to make bigger changes.
Wisneski said he believes the university should stop allowing open carry on the campus in light of the shooting.
“It’s really insensitive to keep a policy like that after a shooting this close to home,” Wisneski said. “I don’t know why anyone would need to open carry on campus anyway and I think it would make a lot of people afraid or at least uncomfortable if someone did open carry on campus now.”
Though, no matter what changes come next, CU students are all too aware of the permeant loss that has taken place.
Student Body President Molly Frommelt said she knew one of the shooting victims personally, Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley. Frommelt worked with Talley for three years to help facilitate relations between the university and the city.
“He really cared about the students,” Frommelt said. “He was always willing to be their advocate.”
A Colorado native, she remembers the shootings at Arapahoe High School and the Aurora movie theater vividly, and said she couldn’t believe it has now happened to her campus.
“It’s numbing,” Frommelt said. “The university needs time to heal and the students need to know that they’re safe.”
Longtime Colorado Springs gun store owner Paul Paradis was sick to hear about the mass shooting Monday afternoon that killed 10 people at a King Soopers in Boulder.
Alleged gunman Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, of Arvada, purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol less than a week before the shooting. Paradis wasn’t surprised to hear that a semiautomatic firearm was used in the shooting, saying there are millions of AR-15-style firearms across America.
“Millions of people use them for hunting, enjoyment and self-defense,” he said. “I’m really tired of the broad-based attacks on people that have no ill will and have never done any harm.”
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AR-15-style firearms are popular for their accuracy, light weight and little recoil, Paradis said.
“The guns are typically sold with 10-round magazines but even though Colorado has made 30-round magazines illegal, they are everywhere,” Paradis said at his store west of downtown.
The military carries a fully automatic version of the firearms, the M-4 carbine, which itself is a variant of the M-16 pistol American troops started using in Vietnam.
Paradis doesn’t see banning guns and background checks as the way to stop mass shootings.
“We are spending probably a half-a-billion dollars on background checks and we don’t have enough police on the streets, we don’t have resources for the mentally ill, crime labs are over-burdened and you can’t do DNA in less than six months or a year, Paradis said. “All these things would help stop criminal activity, but we don’t do anything to solve the problem. I’m angry and frustrated.”
Paradis said he treats customers at Paradise Sales with the respect he feels they all deserve.
“My store is kind of like the United Nations,” he said. “I have so many immigrants that come here that are loving the fact that they can own a gun. But there is a segment of our society that believes that is a threat. Whenever someone comes in with a strange name or a strange background, it increases peoples fear.”
President Joe Biden called on Congress Tuesday to pass an assault weapons ban.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone another hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the house and senate to act,” Biden said. “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country. This should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives.”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress to pass stricter gun control laws, amplifying appeals by Colorado Democrats to pass legislation in the wake of the mass shooting at a Boulder grocery store that left 10 dead, including a police officer.
"I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save the lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act,” Biden said at the White House before departing on a trip to promote the pandemic relief package.
Biden vowed to "use all the resources at my disposal to keep the American people safe." In the brief remarks he called on Congress to expand background checks on gun purchasers and restore the assault weapon ban.
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Acknowledging that the accused gunman's motives and some details about the shooting were still unknown, Biden added: “This is not and should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue. It will save lives.”
In Congress and in Colorado, however, gun laws remain a fiercely partisan issue, with Democrats hammering the phrase "enough is enough" in a steady stream of statements and social media posts, while Republicans have so far either sidestepped questions about gun safety legislation or criticized attempts to politicize the massacre.
"This cannot be our new normal," U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, the Lafayette Democrat who represents Boulder, said at a Tuesday news conference where authorities released the names of the suspect and the 10 victims. "We need to see a change, because we have lost far too many lives."
Neguse, in a series of tweets Tuesday, called on the Senate to "[e]liminate the filibuster" and to "reinstate the assault weapons ban."
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Silt Republican who has made defense of the Second Amendment central to her political career, tore into Biden on Twitter.
"Joe Biden has wasted no time politicizing the attack in Boulder yesterday by calling for an assault weapons ban & other infringements on our Second Amendment," Boebert said.
Earlier, Boebert said in a lengthy statement that she wouldn't attempt to use the shooting to "advance a political agenda" and "will not blame society at large for the sick actions of one man and I will not allow lawbreakers to dictate the rights of law-abiding citizens."
"We are all devastated by what happened in Boulder and heartbroken for those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy," U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette said on Twitter Tuesday.
The Denver Democrat added: "We can — and must — do more to protect our communities from this type of violence. It’s past time for Congress to act."
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat and sponsor of legislation to close what he describes as a loophole in federal law on background check, tweeted: "The Senate has to act. If that means getting rid of the filibuster, so be it."
The Boulder community came together and showed its support Tuesday for the victims of the mass shooting Monday, March 22, 2021, when a gunman opened fire in a King Soopers in south Boulder. A makeshift memorial was created along the perimeter fence at the grocery store on Table Mesa Drive.
Community members leave flowers and signs outside the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive while they grieve and process the events that took place in Boulder on Monday afternoon. A 21-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire in the store, killing 10 people, including a Boulder police officer. (Video by Katie Klann)
The man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers in Boulder on Monday purchased a Ruger AR-556 firearm on March 16, according to an arrest affidavit released Tuesday.
The man's sister-in-law told the Arvada Police Department that she saw him playing with a firearm that she said looked like a machine gun at the residence they share a few days before the shooting.
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Boulder authorities announced Tuesday morning they arrested Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, who lived in Arvada at the time of the shooting. The 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office may charge Alissa with 10 counts of murder.
According to the affidavit, police interviewed a woman who identified herself as married to Alissa's oldest brother.
She said Alissa had talked about a bullet stuck in the gun, and also told police that family members were upset with Alissa for playing with a gun in the house and took it from him.
The woman believed Alissa kept the gun in his room at the top level of their residence.
The initial 911 call about the attack came in at 2:39 p.m. Monday. Details provided by the affidavit give a glimpse into how people in the store and areas around it tried to make sense of what they witnessed as the chaos unfolded.
According to the affidavit, one 911 caller reported seeing Alissa in the refrigerated food section and saw him leave toward Broadway. Multiple witnesses told authorities he wielded an assault rifle.
Descriptions of Alissa's appearance varied, according to the affidavit.
A 911 caller described the shooter as white and middle-aged with dark hair and a beard wearing a black vest, and a short-sleeved shirt.
A few witnesses said they saw him wearing an armored vest.
Officer Richard Steidell, who responded to the scene and helped search for a suspect, described the suspect as possibly blond and wearing a plaid shirt, though he was not sure, says the affidavit.
On Monday, Boulder police identified one of the victims as officer Eric Talley, 51, and said he was the first officer to respond to the scene.
According to the affidavit, other responding officers who saw Talley down could see he was dead, with a gunshot wound to the head.
According to the affidavit, Alissa appeared to walk willingly to a SWAT team for them to take him into custody, and he was arrested shortly before 3:30 p.m.
At this point Alissa had removed his clothing and wore only a pair of shorts. Items photographed that he removed on the scene include a green tactical vest, a rifle -- possibly identified as an AR-15, according to the document -- a semiautomatic handgun, a pair of jeans and a dark long-sleeved shirt.
A significant amount of blood was around the items, according to the affidavit.
He had a gunshot wound to his upper right thigh, the affidavit says. Officials have said Alissa is the only person to suffer serious, nonfatal injuries during the attack.
Alissa did not answer when a sergeant asked him if there were other suspects. The affidavit says he asked to speak to his mother.
Responders found a black Mercedes C sedan, registered to an unnamed person the affidavit says is likely Alissa's brother, in the parking lot.
According to the affidavit, the front passenger compartment contained a green rifle case. The affidavit says Alissa has a Colorado driver's license.
Authorities identified the victims Tuesday morning. They ranged in age from 20 to 65.
Officials have not commented on a possible motive for the shooting.
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Prosecutors and defense attorneys said Tuesday substantial resources would flow into any investigation and criminal case against the 21-year-old man suspected of killing 10 people at a Boulder grocery store.
"A case of this magnitude, with so many victims and so much tragedy, will get every possible resource devoted to it," said John Walsh, a former U.S. Attorney for Colorado. "The fact that the identity of the shooter may be known makes no difference."
The case against the suspect will likely proceed to trial, given Colorado's elimination of the death penalty in 2020 and the corresponding incentive to plead guilty, experts said. The federal government still maintains capital punishment, which will become a factor if U.S. prosecutors bring charges, depending on what the government learns of the suspect.
Craig L. Truman, a Denver defense attorney whose clients have included those accused of homicide, described the detailed portrait of the suspect's life both sides would try to compile.
"The first record about you is your birth certificate. The last record about you is your jail booking. Anything that's in writing, I want everything in between," he said of preparing a case.
It is important for a forensic psychiatrist and psychologist to examine the suspect, Truman said. School records, job records and statements from people acquainted with the defendant would help his attorney determine "who this guy is, what makes him click."
Barring separate charges from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty will handle the case. His office declined a request to speak about the proceedings, but people familiar with Dougherty described him as fully up to the task.
"I am confident that Michael will bring his decades of experience to bear to ensure that this tragic case is thoroughly and fairly investigated, while at the same time ensuring that the victims and their families are treated with the utmost respect," said Amy Padden, a deputy district attorney in the Fifth Judicial District of Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake and Summit counties. "He has a very talented and dedicated staff who will ensure that this case receives the attention that it deserves."
Dougherty was a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office at the time of the 9/11 terror attacks before he was recruited to run a project in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to review DNA evidence of convicted defendants — leading to one man's exoneration for murder. After serving in the First Judicial District Attorney's Office in Jefferson and Gilpin counties, Dougherty was appointed byt then-Gov. John Hickenlooper as Boulder's head prosecutor in 2018.
"He probably hasn't allowed himself the luxury to get too emotional," said George Brauchler, the former District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. "... But I also think Michael's a career prosecutor. This isn't his first murder case. But it will be the biggest — and hopefully worst — murder case he'll ever have."
Brauchler, who handled the prosecution of the man who killed 12 people inside an Aurora movie theater in 2012 and the alleged killer of Kendrick Castillo at a Highlands Ranch school in 2019, predicted the Boulder suspect will have a "well-funded defense team."
In the prosecution's corner will be the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its expertise. Those skills include pursuing potential communications by the suspect and tracking the gun used in the commission of the crime,.
Walsh, the former U.S. Attorney who saw multiple massacres in Colorado during his tenure said there will be a parallel federal inquiry, and the crime will be a top priority for President Joe Biden's nominee for U.S. Attorney.
However, there will likely be a dearth of information made public about the shooting right away.
"We have ethical rules as prosecutors that don't apply to other attorneys that prevent us from making public statements that may prevent a defendant from receiving a fair trial," said Steve Jensen, who spent 33 years as a prosecutor in Jefferson County and handled cases arising from the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the 2010 killings at Deer Creek Middle School.
Truman, the defense attorney, agreed on the necessity of staying quiet.
"I've never had a case in my 47 years where publicity helped me," he said. Defending an accused murderer, Truman added, is "a terrible spot for the defense lawyer to be in. They'll do their duty, but you don't like it when the phone rings with these sorts of things."
Correction: The Highlands Ranch school shooting occurred in 2019.
The Boulder Police Department early Tuesday released the identity of the suspect who allegedly shot and killed 10 people including one of their own officers.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, of Arvada was arrested about 3:30 p.m. Monday at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive. He faces 10 counts of murder.
Alissa was pictured in a live-steaming video being led from the store in handcuffs and wearing only underwear. His right leg appeared to be covered in blood.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said at a news conference early Tuesday that Alissa suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound and was treated at a hospital there until early Tuesday.
20th Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Alissa will be transferred to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office jail Tuesday. He expected the arrest affidavit – with details about why police think Alissa killed 10 people by shooting them at the store – to be released after Alissa was booked.
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Alissa’s Facebook page, which was taken down by 10 a.m. Tuesday, showed his name as “Ahmad Al Issa.” It showed his interests as “Metro university … computer engineering/computer science … kickboxing.”
Some of his posts mentioned praising Allah, kickboxing and UFC fights and (in 2019 at least) wanting a girlfriend.
A spokesman from Metropolitan State University said Alissa is not, nor ever has been, an MSU-Denver student.
Court records show Alissa was arrested in 2017 after he "cold-cocked" a classmate in the head. Alissa reportedly punched the boy several times in the head after he “had made fun of him and called him racial names weeks earlier," court documents stated.
Alissa pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in 2018, in connection to the incident, and was sentenced to one year probation, 48 hours of community service and fees/court costs.
Ali Aliwi Alissa, the suspect’s 34-year-old brother, told The Daily Beast that authorities searched his house all night after the shooting.
Alissa said his brother was “very anti-social” and paranoid, adding that, in high school, he would describe “being chased, someone is behind him, someone is looking for him.”
“When he was having lunch with my sister in a restaurant, he said, ‘People are in the parking lot, they are looking for me.’ She went out, and there was no one. We didn’t know what was going on in his head,” Alissa said, admitting that he believes his brother is mentally ill.
DA Dougherty said early Tuesday: “This killer’s name will live in infamy, but today let us remember the victims and work tirelessly for them.”
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A gunman killed 10 people, including the law enforcement officer who was first on-scene, at a Colorado grocery store Monday, and those who were able to make it out of the King Soopers grocery store described a chaotic scene as people ran for their lives.
"He just came in and started shooting," a witness who asked to remain anonymous told the Denver Post, and his roommate, who wasn't identified, said the gunman "let off a couple of shots, then was silent, and then he let off a couple more. He wasn't spraying."
Another witness, Ryan Borowski, said he went to the store to buy some ice cream, but once inside, he went down a different aisle after changing his mind. It was then he heard the first gunshots.
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"I was going to get a Ben & Jerry's, and that was on the east side of the store, and I walked in on the west side. And I changed my mind, decided not to, went down a different aisle and pretty much the moment after I made that decision, I heard the first two shots," he said on CNN. "By the third shot, I was running with everyone else toward the back."
Another witness, who was only identified as David, said he was picking up sushi at the store and heard the gunshots ring out.
"I knew every gunshot that was shot went into somebody," he told Fox 31 Denver. "I could hear ... I could tell when a gunshot doesn't ricochet, but I also can tell when a gunshot goes into somebody."
Another witness, Steven McHugh, said his son-in-law and his two teenage granddaughters were in the grocery store while their father received a COVID-19 vaccination, adding that his family had witnessed people get shot, but they managed to hide in a closet until police rescued them.
"They're in seventh and eighth grade," he said of his granddaughters' experience. "This is completely fricking terrifying. This is unacceptable."
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Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold called Talley's actions "heroic."
"It seemed like all of us had imagined we'd be in a situation like this at some point in our lives," said James Bentz, another witness.
Officer Eric Talley was among the 10 people who were killed in a shooting at a King Soopers on Monday afternoon, the Boulder Police Department said.
Talley, 51, had been with the department since 2010 and was the first officer to arrive at the scene at 3600 Table Mesa Drive, where he was fatally shot, Boulder police Chief Maris Herold said.
Talley’s father, Homer Talley, told 9News that his son was a father of seven, the oldest of whom is 20 years old.
“Didn’t surprise me he was the first one there,” Homer Talley told the station.
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Homer Talley added that his son was 40 years old when he started with the police force and that he was working to become a drone operator because he thought it would be safer.
“He had a great sense of humor, he was a prankster,” Homer Talley said. “He loved his family more than anything."
Eric Talley became the sixth Boulder officer to be killed in the line of duty.
The last Boulder officer to be killed in the line of duty was officer Beth Haynes in 1994 when she responded to a domestic disturbance call.
A procession led by several metro-area law enforcement agencies was held for Talley on Monday night.
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A gunman killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder on Monday afternoon, plunging the university town into what local authorities called "a tragedy and a nightmare."
Police Chief Maris Herold said the 10 fatalities included Officer Eric Talley, 51, who had been on the Boulder force since 2010. Talley was the first officer on the scene at 3600 Table Mesa Drive, responding to the shooting within minutes of the initial 911 call at 2:49 p.m.
"Without that quick response, we don't know if there would have been more loss of life," Commander Kerry Yamaguchi said.
A long procession of police cars and ambulances, lights flashing, escorted Talley's body through Boulder from the store around 7:45 p.m.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers, paramedics, SWAT team members and firefighters from Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Erie, Arvada, Jefferson County and the FBI responded to the scene.
One "person of interest" was in custody.
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“There is no ongoing public threat," Yamaguchi said Monday night. "We do have a person of interest in custody. That person was injured during the incident and is being treated for the injuries." That was the only person who sustained serious, non-fatal injuries during the shootings, according to police.
Overall, few answers came from police in what promised to be a long investigation. No victims had been identified by officials late Monday night. Yamaguchi refused to comment on possible motives or whether the person in custody was connected to King Soopers or any of the victims.
ALERT: Active Shooter at the King Soopers on Table Mesa. AVOID THE AREA. PIO is en-route.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) March 22, 2021
Police said they responded to the area on reports first of a person shot in the parking lot, and when officers arrived, they were immediately fired at.
A video live-streamed on YouTube shows at least two people on the ground in the King Soopers parking lot and one person lying on the floor inside the store.
Witnesses described a harrowing scene inside the store. One shopper told KCNC-TV he heard three loud bangs. He said everyone ran to the back of the store, to the employee area where workers told them how to escape. They walked single file, with their arms on the backs of those in front of them.
The employee said the shooter was inside. Several gunshots could be heard firing inside of the store.
A 21-year-old Boulder resident told the Denver Gazette he was shopping in the store with his mother when he heard shots on a different side of the store from where he was. After the first shot, he dropped to the ground. He heard three shots total, he said.
"I heard the first shot, and by the next two shots, we were on the ground and ready to (expletive) run when we had the opportunity," he said.
He estimated it took him and his mother less than a minute to get out of the store, and they made it about halfway across the parking lot when he spotted a person he believed was dead.
When he spoke to the Denver Gazette around 5:30 p.m., his car was still cordoned off in the area near where the shooter entered. They had to leave their dog inside the car, he said.
He said when the shots rang out, some people began screaming, some dropped to the ground and others ran.
"I can only hope that they're all right. That's just (expletive) not cool," he said.
He was safe at his residence when he spoke to the Denver Gazette.
One witness to the shooting told Fox 31 Denver the shooter used an AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle.
Person of interest
At around 3:30 p.m., the video showed police escorting a man in handcuffs out of the King Soopers. The man was shirtless with no socks or shoes and one of his legs was covered in blood. Video showed an ambulance pulling away from the store.
Boulder Community Health hospital representatives said they received only one patient associated with the King Soopers shooting. Patients would not include anyone pronounced dead at the scene. Yamaguchi said the person of interest remains in the hospital.
“This is a tragedy and nightmare for Boulder County,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. “We will stand united in support of the victims and their families to ensure that justice is done.”
No court appearance has been scheduled for the person of interest, Dougherty said. But Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said his office is ready to assist in the legal process in any way needed.
“I’m deeply saddened and angered with the news of another tragic shooting in Colorado," Weiser said. "Our office is standing ready."
Just before 4 p.m., numerous people were seen being walked out of the King Soopers by police, including multiple people wearing Starbucks and King Soopers aprons or nametags. Police radio traffic confirmed the store had been cleared.
Video at that time shows officers and a SWAT car surround a burgundy vehicle as a police officer ordered the occupant to surrender. The video was cut off immediately after. It is unclear who was inside the vehicle or what happened to them. Police said only one person of interest is in custody.
At 5:10 p.m., Boulder police issued a shelter-in-place order for 17th Street and Grove Street related to a "report of (an) armed, dangerous individual." The order was lifted at 6:40 p.m. Yamaguchi said police were investigating to determine if the situation was related to the King Soopers shooting; however, they concluded it was not.
“My heart is breaking as we watch this unspeakable event unfold in our Boulder community," said Gov. Jared Polis, who lived in Boulder before moving to the governor's mansion. "We are making every public safety resource available to assist the Boulder County Sheriff's Department as they work to secure the store."
At least three medical helicopters responded to the scene.
Denver's Executive Director of Public Safety Murphy Robinson said he has committed Denver safety resources to Boulder to assist with this situation for as long as needed.
Police continue working to identify the victims and notify their families.
Homer Talley, the father of the police officer killed, posted that his son "took his job as a police officer very seriously," adding that he had seven children, the youngest being 7. Eric Talley joined the force when he was 40, according to his father's post, and had been looking for a job to keep himself off the front lines ... he didn't want to put his family through something like this."
Police urge people to avoid the King Soopers area as the investigation continues. Any witnesses to the shooting or people looking for loved ones are instructed to call Boulder Police at 303-441-3333.
White House briefed
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at 6 p.m. President Joe Biden has been briefed about the shooting and will be kept up to date on additional developments.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a statement promoting conversations about gun violence and policy, "It’s long past time for Congress to take meaningful action to keep deadly weapons out of the wrong hands. There are steps that the overwhelming majority of Americans want us to take. And they have every right to expect us to finally do something about gun violence in our country."
Colorado House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, and Boulder County lawmakers released a joint statement promoting policy action.
“We are heartbroken and enraged at what has become all too common in our country: a mass shooting in a peaceful and loving community," the statement read. "As we wait for more details to emerge, we at least know this much: gun violence is an epidemic that has stolen far too many sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and loved ones from families across Colorado. We must continue our fight to reduce gun violence and save lives. Inaction is not an option.”
Earlier this month, a Colorado judge blocked Boulder from enforcing its 2-year-old ban on assault weapons and 10-round magazines, saying local governments cannot pass more restrictive gun laws than the state.
Colorado has a long history of mass shootings, with the state claiming the fifth most mass shootings in the U.S. since 1982, according to Statista.
The Columbine High School shooting in 1999 was one of the first massacres in a school. The Aurora theater shooting in 2012 was followed by The Planned Parenthood shooting in 2015 in Colorado Springs. In 2019, a student was killed and eight injured in a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch.
"Enough is enough," U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, whose district includes Boulder, said in a statement. "Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans — and Coloradans — are being murdered before our very eyes."
Multiple people were killed after a gunman opened fire inside a Boulder King Soopers on Monday afternoon, March 22, 2021. Among the victims was a Boulder police officer, Eric Talley, 51. Full story here.
A gunman killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder on Monday afternoon, March 22, 2021, plunging the university town into what local authorities called "a tragedy and a nightmare." Sadly, this isn't the first mass shooting in Colorado.
Chuck E. Cheese, 1993, 4 dead
On Dec. 14, 19-year-old gunman and former employee Nathan Dunlap opened fire on the staff of an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese, killing four and injuring one employee.
Columbine High School, 1999, 15 dead
Two armed teens went on a shooting spree April 20, killing 12 students and one teacher, and wounding more than 20 others. After the attack, gunmen Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed themselves. At the time, this was the largest school shooting in U.S history.
Platte Canyon High School, 2006, 2 dead
On Sept. 27, armed 53-year-old Duane Roger Morrison entered Platte Canyon High School taking six young girls hostage and sexually assaulted them. Following a three-hour standoff with police, Morrison killed one of the girls before turning the gun on himself.
Youth With a Mission Center and New Life Church, 2007, 5 dead
In the morning on Dec. 9, 24-year-old Matthew John Murray opened fire on the Youth With a Mission Center in Arvada, Colorado. He killed two, and injured two before escaping. Later that day, he made a similar attack on New Life Church in Colorado Springs, killing two and wounding three before shooting himself.
Aurora Movie Theater, 2012, 12 dead
One armed gunman, later identified as 25-year-old James Holmes, opened fire at a midnight showing of Batman: the Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and leaving 70 wounded.
Arapahoe High School, 2013, 2 dead
Student and gunman Karl Pierson, 18, made an armed attack on Dec. 13 that killed one 17-year-old girl. Pierson took his own life on the scene.
Planned Parenthood, 2015, 3 dead
An armed anti-abortion radical enter a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs on Nov. 27, killing three including one police officer. Following a standoff that lasted nearly five hours and resulted nine others injured, the shooter was identified as Robert Lewis Dear Jr, 57.
Walmart, 2017, 3 dead
On Nov. 1, 47-year-old Scott Ostrem opened fire in a Thornton Walmart, killing three shoppers. Ostrem escaped the scene and was later found and arrested in Westminster.
STEM school, 2019, 1 dead
An 18-year-old student, Devon Erickson, opened fire in the Highlands Ranch school, killing 1 teen and leaving 8 others injured. The 18-year-old victim and two other students charged Erickson, an effort that disarmed the shooter but resulted in the student being fatally shot to the chest.
King Soopers, 2021, 10 dead
March 22, a gunman attacked a Boulder King Soopers grocery store. The suspect has not yet been identified by officials. Police confirmed that at least 10 were killed in the store including one police officer.
Colorado officials expressed anger and sadness Monday as details emerged about a shooting at a Boulder supermarket that left 10 people dead, including a police officer killed in the line of duty.
Authorities said a suspected gunman, who wasn't identified, was in custody and being treated for unspecified injuries. A law enforcement spokesman said police were still investigating and didn't have details on a motive for the shooting at the King Soopers store.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat, said the state was making "every public safety resource" available to assist local authorities as they worked to secure the store.
“My heart is breaking as we watch this unspeakable event unfold in our Boulder community," Polis said in a statement.
"I’m incredibly grateful to the brave men and women who have responded to the scene to help the victims of this senseless tragedy."
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who represents Boulder in Congress, noted that Monday's deadly shooting was only the latest in a series of mass shootings in Colorado spanning decades.
“Today’s events are simply devastating," the Lafayette Democrat said in a statement, adding that he and his wife were "heartbroken" and praying for the Boulder community.
"Enough is enough," Neguse said. "Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans — and Coloradans — are being murdered before our very eyes — day after day, year after year."
Added Neguse: "It doesn’t have to be this way. There are steps we can take — and must take — to protect our community; common-sense, broadly supported proposals that will save lives. If we are truly invested in saving lives, then we must have the willpower to act and to pass meaningful gun reform. The time for inaction is over.”
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat who represents the district where the 2012 Aurora theater shooting took place, said on Twitter that he was "devastated" to hear about the shooting.
"My fellow Coloradans have navigated this situation far too often, including in the community I serve," Crow said. "We are tired of living in fear. The victims and survivors will always have my thoughts and prayers, but they deserve my action. We need serious and effective gun violence legislation now."
Their Republican colleague, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights and owner of a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, called for Americans to come together.
"As we continue to hear the news coming out of Boulder, I’m praying for the police, first responders, and those affected by this tragedy," Boebert tweeted.
"May God be with us as we make sense of this senseless violence, and may we unify and not divide during this time."
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette also called for unity but demanded change in response to the shooting.
"We can’t continue to live like this," the Denver Democrat tweeted. "We have to do more to protect our communities from the constant threat of gun violence. We have to find a way to come together and collectively declare: Enough is enough!"
Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet used the same phrase in a statement offering condolences to the victims' families and gratitude to those who responded to the shooting.
"As the investigation continues, we need to revisit a national conversation about gun violence that does not regress into partisanship," Bennet said in a statement.
"It’s long past time for Congress to take meaningful action to keep deadly weapons out of the wrong hands. There are steps that the overwhelming majority of Americans want us to take. And they have every right to expect us to finally do something about gun violence in our country. Enough is enough.”
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper listed the locations of Colorado mass shootings and ended his statement with the same phrase invoked by his fellow Democrats.
“We all share Boulder’s pain — pain that hits home. Columbine, Arapahoe, Platte Canyon, STEM School Highlands Ranch, Planned Parenthood, Aurora — and now Boulder," Hickenlooper said in a statement. "More needs to be done to prevent dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Enough is enough.”
Hickenlooper also shared his sympathies and thanked authorities.
“Our state grieves tonight as we mourn 10 more Coloradans senselessly killed by gun violence — including police officer Eric Talley. Our thoughts are with the victims’ loved ones, and we are grateful to the frontline workers and first responders whose bravery saved lives," he said.
Noting that he is a two-time graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, U.S. Rep, Ed Perlmutter, an Arvada Democrat, said his "heart breaks for those impacted by today's violence."
"I want to extend my appreciation for law enforcement and first responders at the scene," Perlmutter added. "Gun violence is becoming too common in our daily lives, and we must at all levels make the epidemic of gun violence less easy, less frequent and less deadly."
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, the other Republican member of Colorado's congressional delegation to respond to Monday's shooting, called the officers who secured the scene "true heroes."
"My prayers are with the families of the victims of today's tragedy in Boulder. I join the entire community of Boulder in grieving the senseless loss of life," tweeted Buck, a Windsor resident who also serves as chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. "I am grateful for the officers who responded to the scene within minutes. You are true heroes."
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, a persistent foe of gun-control laws, hadn't posted any comments about the massacre by late Monday.
About an hour before Colorado headed to Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, they received the news that there had been a shooting, which took multiple lives Monday afternoon, at the King Soopers two miles from CU's campus and only 1.2 miles from Folsom Field.
"I'm very familiar with it. That's a grocery store a lot of people go to. It's probably five minutes from my house," senior guard McKinley Wright IV said. "It's just so sad and devastating that happened."
With the shooting on Wright's and likely most of the CU's player's minds, Colorado's season came to an end Monday night, falling to Florida State 71-53. Colorado finished the season 23-9, its best winning percentage (.720) since 1969 (.750) when the Buffaloes previously made the Sweet 16.
After the game, coach Tad Boyle said he decided not to discuss the shooting with his players, but it was brought up in the locker room following the game in what Boyle described as an emotional moment.
"It puts basketball in its proper place," Boyle said. "Win or lose tonight, I felt an emptiness in my stomach. Another senseless act of violence we've experienced in this country many, many times. It puts this game in perspective."
Boyle added that the tragic events weren't an excuse for the way the Buffaloes played Monday, in what was one of their worst shooting performances of the year.
Coming off its best 3-point shooting game of the season on Saturday against Georgetown, in which the Buffaloes hit 16 3s, Colorado went cold Monday, going 4 of 16 from beyond the arc and shooting 35.7 percent from the field. Freshman forward Jabari Walker, who scored 24 points Saturday, went scoreless, while Sand Creek High School product and senior forward D'Shawn Schwartz, who made five 3s against Georgetown, led the Buffaloes in scoring with 13 points.
Wright struggled most of all, after his 13-assist game on Saturday, finishing Monday with 10 points, one assist and five turnovers.
"It hurts," Wright said. "I'm trying to hold back my tears again right now. I gave this university everything I had for four years, man. I tried my best to win as many games as possible."
Wright will go down as one of the greatest players in Colorado history, leaving the program as the all-time assist leader and sixth in total points in his career. And as the clock ticked away on his time at Colorado, Wright embraced in a tearful hug Boyle for one final moment.
"I told him I loved him," Boyle said. "That kid's special. What he's been through to get to the University of Colorado and what he's given to this program over the last four years — the player's supposed to be crying not the coach, but their were tears in my eyes like there are now."
And after the game, despite a bitter and emotional goodbye, Wright maybe offered the best wisdom he has in his four years at Colorado.
"It's a privilege to play this game, but we have to realize that life outside of basketball is real," Wright said. "People lost their lives today. That sucks. It's hard to put that in words, coming off playing my last game here at CU.
"Life is so much bigger than basketball. Basketball — it's just a game."
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty addresses the press regarding the shooting at King Soopers in Boulder. (Video by Michael Ciaglo)
DENVER — Crying is a part of the NCAA Tournament, just as much as confetti and Oral Roberts and Sister Jean. McKinley Wright IV cried Monday when his CU Buffs career ended.
So did the coach.
“The player’s supposed to be crying, not the coach,” Tad Boyle said, choking up once again.
Back here, back home, there were tears for life-and-death reasons. Hours before No. 4 Florida State closed No. 5 CU’s season with a 71-53 win in the Round of 32, at least 10 people were killed when a gunman shot up a King Soopers in Boulder. The grocery store’s 5, maybe 10 minutes from the CU Events Center where the Buffs play their home games. It’s a popular spot to score tailgating essentials for football games at Folsom Field, close enough to campus much of the student body shops there. It’s where Wright does his own shopping.
“It’s a common grocery store, a lot of people go to it,” the Buffs' beloved senior said.
Now it’s a marker of tragedy, heartache, pain.
The Buffs were aware of the shooting. Every player received a campus alert on their phone.
“It puts basketball in its proper place. Win or lose tonight, I felt an emptiness in my stomach,” Boyle said. “(It’s) another senseless act of violence that we’ve experienced as a country many, many times. It puts this game in perspective. It puts losing in perspective.”
I don’t know a man who loves Boulder more than Tad loves Boulder. Few weeks ago, after the Arizona game, he stood at his car, looked up at the Flatirons and smiled, “Not bad, huh.”
“Boulder’s as safe a place as I’ve ever felt or lived in my life,” he said. “We've got to figure out a way to stop this stuff. I don’t know what the answer is. But we’ve got to figure out a way.”
It’s tragic what happened in Boulder on Monday. It’s also tragic that 95 people were murdered last year in Denver, most in shootings. It’s also tragic that Wright, a Minneapolis guy, rarely traveled back to his hometown over the past four years because of the violence in his neighborhood. He'd stay in Boulder instead.
“For me, where I come from, that happens a lot,” Wright said after the game. “I see it often.”
All these tragic things deserve real attention and real solutions. A tragedy like this can’t only turn heads when it happens in Boulder, one of the wealthiest counties in America. When I tuned into 850 KOA to listen to Mark Johnson’s call of the Tournament game, “Boulder is on high alert” came over the air — right as CU tipped off. The CU campus canceled classes at about 5:30 p.m. One of the dead is said to be a law enforcement officer. God bless their families and everyone who's been affected.
Boyle did not address the shooting with the team prior to tipoff. They spoke in the locker room after the game, and the season, had ended. Buffs parents who were at the game in Indianapolis were searching on their phones and asking for details during the game as well.
“Right now my heart goes out to the Boulder community and more than just our basketball team,” Boyle said.
As for the game, Florida State looked like a team that had been on this stage before, with a Sweet 16 spot on the line, while the CU Buffs looked like a team tip-toeing into new territory.
Both looks check out. Florida State advanced to its fourth Sweet 16 under Leonard Hamilton with long, strong arms disrupting CU passing lanes and confident shot-making when they needed it. The Buffs, in search of their first trip to the second weekend in a half century, came unraveled under the Tournament pressure.
“We didn’t get to the Sweet 16 this year, but we’re going to get there, and hopefully beyond,” Boyle said.
But Monday afternoon could have been much, much worse. Back home in Boulder, it was.
“People lost their lives today,” Wright said. “That sucks.”
The Boulder County legislative delegation and House Speaker Alec Garnett of Denver released a statement Monday afternoon regarding the shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers in Boulder.
“We are closely monitoring the tragic situation unfolding in our beloved city of Boulder. We are heartbroken and enraged at what has become all too common in our country: a mass shooting in a peaceful and loving community. As we wait for more details to emerge, we at least know this much: gun violence is an epidemic that has stolen far too many sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and loved ones from families across Colorado. We must continue our fight to reduce gun violence and save lives. Inaction is not an option.”
The delegation is made up of Democratic Reps, Edie Hooton, Karen McCormick, Tracey Bernett and Judy Amabile.
Police did not immediately release information but planned a news conference Monday evening.
Gov. Jared Polis tweeted, "My prayers are with our fellow Coloradans in this time of sadness and grief as we learn more about the extent of the tragedy."
U.S. Rep. Diane DeGette of Denver also weighed in on Twitter.
"Our hearts go out to everyone in the Boulder area," she said. "We can’t continue to live like this. We have to do more to protect our communities from the constant threat of gun violence. We have to find a way to come together and collectively declare: Enough is enough!"
An active shooter was reported at a King Soopers store on Monday afternoon, the Boulder Police Department said. (Video by Julia Cardi and Michael Ciaglo)
The man charged with the mass shooting attack last week at a Boulder-area King Soopers will have a status conference hearing in court May 25, two months to the day after his first court appearance, according to court papers.
The hearings are routine in criminal cases and allow lawyers to indicate their readiness for trial and iron out next steps.
Prosecutors have charged Ahmad Alissa, 21, with 10 counts of first-degree murder, including one for murder of a peace officer in the death of Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley. He also faces one count of attempted murder of a peace officer.
At his first appearance last Thursday, 20th Judicial District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill agreed to hold a status conference before scheduling evidence hearings in the case. An evidence hearing is required for suspects held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said at a news conference last week. The prosecution has to show why they think Alissa committed the crime.
Defense attorneys indicated at last week's hearing they are evaluating Alissa’s mental health. They did not give specific details of Alissa's purported mental illness, but said they will need to go through prosecutors' evidence to assess its "needs and depth."
Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke will preside over the case.
Dougherty said he expects to file additional counts of attempted first-degree murder for shooting at officers who responded to the attack, and other charges. As of Tuesday not additional charges had been filed, according to court papers.
Last week Dougherty emphasized the need for Alissa to get a fair trial, saying he was being cautious about sharing too much information to avoid the trial being moved out of Boulder County.
More than 3,000 hours and 156 interviews later: What were the Boulder mass shooter's motives?
Family, friends and the public are invited to a viewing and celebration of life for Rikki Olds, a manager who was killed in the mass shooting at a south Boulder King Soopers last week.
The family will hold a viewing on Thursday at Crist Mortuary at 3395 Penrose Place in Boulder to give anyone the opportunity to see Rikki and share memories with the family. It will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to a media release.
A celebration of life ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on April 7 at Boulder Valley Christian Church at 7100 S. Boulder Road. The service will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend.
The public is encouraged to attend both services, but cameras and video recording are prohibited inside or near the entrances of the facilities.
LAFAYETTE — Most people heard Eric Talley’s name for the first time on March 22, when Boulder’s police chief announced the officer had died in the line of duty as the first on the scene in response to the King Soopers shooting.
Officials have said in the days since that Talley's quick response saved dozens of other lives. But to his family, friends and fellow officers in the Boulder Police Department, Talley was an everyday hero who rescued a family of ducks from a storm drain, collected police memorabilia for a young boy in Denver fighting cancer who requested “police stuff” for Christmas, and hosted a barbecue at the department each Father’s Day for those who couldn’t celebrate with their families.
Talley, one of 10 people who died at the King Soopers near South Broadway and Table Mesa Drive, received a hero’s memorial service Tuesday at Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette.
“Becoming a hero is not something that happens overnight,” the Rev. Daniel Nolan of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel said during the service, adding that heroism happens with small sacrifices over time.
Sprays of roses as well as portraits and photos of Talley decorated the stage. Officers from dozens of public safety agencies attended, including from Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska.
Talley, 51, joined the Boulder Police Department in 2010. He was a founding member of the department’s unmanned aircraft systems unit.
He left a wife and seven children. A slideshow of family photos provided a glimpse into birthdays, Christmas mornings and everyday moments that made up the more private side of his life.
A law enforcement procession estimated by Boulder Police to be more than 500 vehicles, escorted Talley’s flag-draped casket from Thornton to the church in Lafayette, arriving about 10:30 a.m..
The Honor Guard that lined the church saluted as his casket passed, flanked by seven officers.
Gov. Jared Polis, Talley’s supervisor Sgt. Adrian Drelles, and family friend Chris Turner were among the service speakers. They described Talley as someone who would put others before himself, go out of his way to make someone’s day better, and cherished his family.
“When called into service to help others, [Talley] did so selflessly and without hesitation,” Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said. “There is no doubt because of his quick action dozens of other lives were saved. I hope this brings you solace in the years ahead.”
Those close to Talley said he gave himself wholeheartedly to everything he did, describing him as both fun-loving and competitive.
Drelles joked that Talley “had two speeds at work: talkaholic and honey badger. Eric was either talking everyone’s ear off or hard charging.”
Drelles said he once told Talley he could only call him 10 times per shift. Five minutes later, Drelles’ phone rang. It was Talley telling him he was going to use the bathroom.
Nolan read a poem Talley’s children wrote for him for Christmas in 2019, called “Our Unsung Hero.” Speaking directly to those children, Drelles told them he sees their father’s kindness and compassion in each of them.
Polis, a Boulder resident before becoming governor, said he didn't know Talley personally but, like many people, wanted to after learning more about the officer. Polis acknowledged the reality of a law enforcement career, noting how officers “know each day when they go to work that they may never be coming home for dinner” that night.
Nolan returned several times to Talley’s willingness to sacrifice his life, saying his deeply held faith — Talley was Catholic — “allowed him to do what he did.”
“I would argue that Officer Talley’s life was not taken. It was given,” Nolan said. “He gave it.”
Following the service, the flag draped over Talley’s casket was folded in silence, and a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace” capped the ceremony.
A law enforcement procession made its way to Flat Irons Community Church in Lafayette, Colorado Tuesday for fallen Officer Talley's memorial service. Community members lined the street as hundreds of vehicles pulled into the parking lot. (Video by Katie Klann)
DENVER — The candles surrounding the casket containing the mortal remains of fallen Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley may have appeared to burn a little differently on Monday than others illuminating the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
Perhaps a little brighter.
They were made of unbleached wax, instead of the bleached variety normally used in worship services, said the Rev. James Jackson, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Littleton, who delivered the sermon at the Catholic funeral Mass for Talley.
“He has gone to God just as he was created — unbleached,” Jackson said.
The Solemn High Requiem Mass featured traditional prayers sung in Latin and other rituals common to the formal service for 400 invited family and friends — half the capacity of the downtown cathedral. The event was not open to the public but was livestreamed online, with more than 1,400 people watching.
When Talley died a week ago, along with nine other people killed in a mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers in Boulder, his life was altered but not ended, Jackson said.
“The soul is not dissolved but changed” he said.
And presumably in heaven, said Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, who heads the Archdiocese of Denver and delivered brief remarks during the service.
As Jesus told his followers there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends, Talley lived by that decree, Aquila said.
“It was evident he was a man of God,” the archbishop said, a man who put Christ and his family first.
A man who had told his father, Shay Talley, that when people were in danger, he didn’t think he could stand by and wait for backup and who said he had had a vision that he thought was God while he was in a grocery store, his father had told media after his death last week.
“He has returned to God,” Aquila said.
Talley, a father of seven, regularly stopped by St. Martin de Porres church in Boulder, across the street from the grocery store where the mass shooting happened, and participated in its events, according to the archdiocese.
St. Martin de Porres, the patron of the parish, experienced tragedy and hardship in his life.
“And so, we ask for his intercession in these difficult circumstances, that God would bring good out of this great evil,” the archdiocese said in a statement.
Jackson spoke of faith and hope at the Mass for Talley, with the Easter messages of resurrection and victory over death.
“Where was God last Monday?“ he said many people wonder.
Jesus was there in Boulder, absorbing and bearing all the pain, anguish and distress — “he is the one victim for us all,” he said.
In the early afternoon sunshine, the church bells tolled as attendees exited the front steps of the cathedral, the family clutching each other in grief. They headed to a reception at a nearby Knights of Columbus Hall.
Surrounded by an adult sex shop, liquor stores and boarded up buildings, the neighborhood around the cathedral is rife with streetwalkers and those hanging out, bumming a cigarette or spare change.
“This neighborhood has never been quieter and somber,” said resident Mike Broemmel, who lives in the area and stood outside the church.
“Usually, it’s a zoo. If you want entertainment, you waltz over here.”
The family and casket were escorted away by rows of law enforcement officers on motorcycles from Lakewood, Aurora, Westminster police departments, Jefferson County and Colorado State Patrol, and other first responders, including a firetruck waving a large flag.
Broemmel said he felt compelled to pay his respects.
“It’s so hard when you live in Colorado to get your head around these mass shootings that keep happening,” he said. “It’s just tragic.”
The family also received support from the Colorado Fallen Heroes Foundation, said Archdiocesan spokesman Mark Haas. The organization of law enforcement and other volunteers assist to help take burden off the impacted law enforcement agency.
Jim Moore, who lives about 8 miles away, also stood outside the church, waving an American flag.
“The police have had such a tough year,” he said. “I wanted to honor this officer who ran into danger to save lives and distinguished his own in the process.”
A second service, open to the public, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette. Among the speakers will be Father Dan Nolan, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Littleton. He will be buried afterward.
Talley's casket was draped in a large American flag before pallbearers carried it down the cathedral steps on Monday.
“Oh, Lord,” said one woman in the crowd on the sidewalk, a sob catching in her throat.
