Ten people were killed in a mass shooting in Colorado. According to reports, a gunman opened fire in a supermarket on Monday, killing ten people, including a police officer. One person was arrested at the scene in Boulder. According to police, there was no continuing danger to the public.
One slain officer has been identified, 51-year-old Eric Tally, who had been a department employee since 2010. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Talley’s life was “cut much too short,” he stated that a “painstaking investigation is already underway.” He called Talley “one of the outstanding officers of the Boulder Police Department.” No other victims are identified yet.
Dougherty stated that the person in custody was the shooter. Several loud bangs were heard in the store, causing a chaotic scene, according to witnesses. Another one said he initially believed someone had dropped something, but by the third shot, everyone had fled. On Monday night on Twitter, Officer Eric Talley’s sister Kirstin expressed her profound grief. Talley was a father of seven.
“Officer Eric Talley is my big brother. He died today in the Boulder shooting. My heart is broken. I cannot explain how beautiful he was and what a devastating loss this is to so many. Fly high, my sweet brother. You always wanted to be a pilot (damn color blindness). Soar,” Kirstin said.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis and other leaders offered their condolences.
“Today we saw the face of evil,” Polis said late Monday.
State Rep. Tom Sullivan expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, as well as his outrage at the events. Sullivan’s son was killed in the 2012 Aurora theatre shooting.
“Simply don’t have the words and doing all I can to maintain the strength I will need to get through this day. We don’t have to live like this. We must do more!” he said.
When a gunman opened fire on a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket on Monday afternoon, police officer Eric Talley was the first to respond. Talley hurried to the scene of a King Soopers supermarket around 2:30 p.m. and was fatally shot, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said. Chief Herold described his fast reaction time at the scene as “heroic.”
“I’m grateful for the police officers that responded, and I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley,” she said, holding back tears.
Rep. Joe Neguse, who represents the Boulder district, spoke out against the ongoing tragedy that Americans face.
“Twenty-one years ago, as a young student in Douglas County, I joined many Coloradans in weeping for the victims of the terrible massacre at Columbine High ten minutes from my high school. Two years ago, I felt the fear that so many Coloradans experienced learning of the shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, where my niece — a kindergartner — was locked down, as we all wept at the tragic loss of life. And tonight, I weep for the families of my constituents, who have tragically lost their lives in yet another mass shooting.”
“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,” Neguse said. “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.”
