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BOULDER, Colorado: A gunman killed multiple people, including a police officer, in a Colorado supermarket on Monday (March 22).
One person is in custody, authorities said.
Boulder Police Commander Kerry Yamaguchi told a news conference that the suspect was being treated, but did not elaborate on the shooting or how many people died.
Officers escorted a shirtless man with blood running down his leg out of the store in handcuffs, but authorities did not say if that was the suspect.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said authorities know how many people died and suggested they will not release the number because they need to notify the families of the victims.
Yamaguchi said police were still investigating and had no details on why.
A man who had just left the store in Boulder, Dean Schiller, told the Associated Press that he heard gunshots and saw three people face down, two in the parking lot and one near the entrance. He said he “couldn’t tell if they were breathing.”
Police stand in front of a King Soopers grocery store where a shooting took place on March 22, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. (Photo: AP / David Zalubowski)
Video posted to YouTube showed one person on the floor inside the King Soopers store and two more outside on the floor, but the extent of their injuries was unclear. What sounds like two shots is also heard at the beginning of the video.
One person was taken from the scene of the shooting to Foothills Hospital in Boulder, said Rich Sheehan, a spokesman for Boulder Community Health, which operates the hospital. Sheehan said he could not provide additional details, but said “we have been notified that we will not be receiving additional patients.”
Police vehicles and officers gathered outside the store, including SWAT teams, and at least three helicopters landed on the roof of the city that is home to the University of Colorado and is about 25 miles northwest of Denver.
Police stand in front of a King Soopers grocery store where a shooting took place on March 22, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. (Photo: AP / David Zalubowski)
Some windows in the front of the store were broken. At one point, authorities said over the loudspeaker that the building was surrounded and that “we must surrender.” They said to come out with their hands up and unarmed.
Sarah Moonshadow told the Denver Post that two shots rang out right after she and her son, Nicolas Edwards, finished shopping for strawberries. He said he told his son to get off and then “we just ran.”
Once they got out, she said they saw a body in the parking lot. Edwards said police were speeding into the parking lot and pulled up next to the body.
“I knew we couldn’t do anything for him,” he said. “We had to go.”
James Bentz told the Post he was in the meat section when he heard what he thought was a misfire, then a series of pops.
“So I was leading a stampede,” he said.
Women hug at the corner of Broadway and Table Mesa Drive near a King Soopers grocery store where a shooting took place on March 22, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. (Photo: AP / Joe Mahoney)
Bentz said he jumped off a loading dock to escape and that young people were helping older people out.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis tweeted a statement that “his heart breaks as we watch this indescribable event unfold in our Boulder community.” He called it “a very active situation” and said the state was “making all public safety resources available to assist the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department as they work to secure the store.”
Boulder police had told people to shelter-in-place amid a report of an “armed and dangerous individual” about 3 miles from the grocery store, but then picked him up and police vehicles were seen exiting the residential area close to downtown and the University of Colorado.
They said they were investigating whether that report was related to the supermarket shooting, but said at the evening press conference that it was unrelated.
Police work on the scene outside a King Soopers grocery store where a shooting took place on March 22, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. (Photo: AP / David Zalubowski)
The FBI said it is assisting in the investigation at the request of Boulder police.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting.
In a statement, the King Soopers network offered “thoughts, prayers and support to our associates, customers and first responders who responded so courageously to this tragic situation.”
“We will continue to cooperate with the local police and our store will remain closed during the police investigation.”
Kevin Daly, owner of Under the Sun Eatery and Pizzeria Restaurant, a block from the supermarket, said he was at his store when he saw police cars arriving and shoppers rushing out of the store. He said he took in several people to keep them warm, and others boarded a bus provided by Boulder police and took them away.
