DENVER — The Boulder Police Department confirmed 10 people are dead, including one Boulder Police officer, in a shooting at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold confirmed Officer Eric Talley, 51, was the first to respond to the King Soopers minutes after initial 911 calls around 2:30 p.m. He was shot and killed. Talley had been with the department since 2010.
"I'm grateful for the police officers that responded, and I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley," Herold said.
Homer Talley, Eric Talley's father, provided the following statement to ABC:
“He took his job as a police officer very seriously. He had seven children. The youngest is 7 years old. He loved his kids and his family more than anything. He joined the police force when he was 40 years old. He was looking for a job to keep himself off of the front lines and was learning to be a drone operator. He didn’t want to put his family through something like this and he believed in Jesus Christ.”
The Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the suspect is in custody and his office will do everything they can do to get justice for the victims.
"I also want to stress how incredibly sorry I am for all victims who were killed at King Soopers. These were people going about their day, doing their food shopping, and their lives were cut abruptly and tragically short by the shooter who is now in custody," Dougherty said.
Officials confirmed the suspect went to the hospital. They say he is the only person injured that they're aware of and they know of no other serious injuries at this point.
Boulder Community Health confirmed they have one patient and would not be receiving any additional patients. It's unclear if the suspect is the patient.
Investigators said they could not provide information on a possible motive. Boulder police are asking for any information, video or photos people have and would like to submit with respect to the shooting. Click here to submit information to police.
AirTracker7 said three medevac helicopters were called in and were landing at Fairview High School. Video from the scene showed one man with a bloody leg being led away from the store in handcuffs and being loaded into an ambulance. Police would not confirm if he was the suspect.
Many police officers from different agencies have responded to the scene and are telling people to avoid the area of the King Soopers.
The Boulder Valley School District says Boulder High is currently on SECURE-Lockout, which means any students on campus will stay inside due to police activity. It says no one should come to the area at this time. Students and coaches part of athletic teams were at Boulder High School when they were alerted of police responding to a situation in the neighborhood nearby. They are all safe and waiting for an all-clear.
Footage shows authorities responding to active shooter situation at grocery store in Boulder, Colorado: “The entire building is surrounded. You need to surrender.” https://t.co/BD6ErPL8mz pic.twitter.com/4ASETSih5V
— ABC News (@ABC) March 22, 2021
The Boulder Police Department also sent out an emergency notification for people in the area of 17th Street and Grove Street to shelter in place for a report of an armed, dangerous individual potentially connected to the King Soopers situation. The shelter in place was lifted at 6:41 p.m. and investigators later confirmed it was unrelated.
Andrew Hummel was in the store at the time of the shooting when he said he heard a loud bang and everyone began sprinting toward the back of the store. He was able to get out safely. He says he heard multiple gunshots while he was inside.
"I pray that everybody impacted by this is doing all right," Hummel said.
Hummel's friend and roommate, Mason, works at the King Soopers. He is also OK, but Hummel said his friend texted that he didn't know if he'd make it out alive.
“One of the biggest like scary texts he sent, he just said ‘I love you guys. Thank you for everything in case things go bad.’ That was a really hard text, especially me being in this situation. That was something I would never want to hear from any of my friends. Because I knew the seriousness of what was going on. It was horrifying. It was truly horrifying,” Hummel said.
A King Soopers employee in Boulder, Andy Arellano, grabbed his phone and started dialing 911 as the shots were getting closer. His manager said to go into the back door.
“There’s never another time I’ve like had this situation before, you know? Not many have,” Arellano said.
Sarah Moonshadow lives just a mile away has been coming to the King Soopers daily for a while. She and her 21-year-old son, Nick, heard the gunshots and got down. She said she heard multiple gunshots. The two started running to leave the store. On the way out, Moonshadow said she saw an older man laying in the street.
"There was a guy laying out in the street as soon as we got outside. And I started running toward him to try to help him, and my son said, ‘No, we can’t help him. We’ve gotta go’” Moonshadow said.
She said she wanted to stop, but she needed to keep to running because they were still too close and they didn't know if the shooter was following them.
Please avoid the area of Table Mesa & Broadway! This is still a very active scene. Do NOT broadcast on social media any tactical information you might see #BoulderShooting 1/2 pic.twitter.com/JE214XS86B
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) March 22, 2021
The FBI Denver said the Boulder Police Department has requested they assist with the investigation.
At the request of the Boulder Police Department, FBI Denver personnel are assisting with an investigation into an active shooter situation at a King Soopers grocery store on Table Mesa Drive in Boulder.
— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) March 22, 2021
Following the shooting, King Soopers released the below statement:
We are horrified and deeply saddened by the senseless violence that occurred at our King Soopers store located on Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, CO.
The entire King Soopers family offers our thoughts, prayers and support to our associates, customers, and the first responders who so bravely responded to this tragic situation.
We will continue to cooperate with local law enforcement and our store will remain closed during the police investigation.
To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we are referring questions to the Boulder Police Department.
Gov. Jared Polis said in a tweet, "My prayers are with our fellow Coloradans in this time of sadness and grief as we learn more about the extent of the tragedy."
Like my fellow Coloradans, I am closely watching unfolding events at King Soopers in Boulder. My prayers are with our fellow Coloradans in this time of sadness and grief as we learn more about the extent of the tragedy.
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) March 22, 2021
Polis has since released the below statement:
“Today, ten lives were tragically lost, including Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley. Officer Talley served more than ten years with the Boulder Police Department and tragically lost his life at the age of 51 while working to save the lives of others.
And tonight, the families of these victims, our fellow Coloradans, my neighbors, are hearing the devastating news that their loved one who simply woke up and went to work this morning, or who ran out to pick up eggs, won’t be coming home. Our community anxiously awaits more information on the victims, hoping it’s not our friends, coworkers and neighbors but knowing in our tight knit community it will be, and even if we don’t personally know them, we all mourn their senseless killing and our sense of safety in our local grocery store.
This year we have all been surrounded by loss of life, illness and isolation, and the deep grief that has accompanied the loss of life as we knew it. As spring sprung this weekend, and vaccines continue to get into arms, lightness creeped back in only for the darkness to descend on us again today. Today we saw the face of evil. I am grieving with my community and all Coloradans.”
MORE: Colorado leaders react after active shooting situation at Boulder King Soopers
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the shooting, a DOJ official told ABC News. Jen Psaki, President Joe Biden's press secretary, has also been briefed and being kept up to date by his team on additional developments.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 7 represents 32 members who work at the store. They are connecting with their members who work there.
Local 7 is closely monitoring the unfolding events at King Sooper #33 in #BoulderColorado. We are praying that all the #grocery workers and shoppers today – including our 32 members that work at this store—are safe and unharmed.
— UFCW Local 7 (@UFCW_7) March 22, 2021
UFCW Local 7 later released the below statement:
“Today our community experienced a senseless act of violence that caused an unnecessary loss of life in Boulder’s vibrant community. It is with deep sadness we mourn the victims and their families who have lost loved ones today, including the heroic Boulder police officer who died in the line of duty. We are forever grateful to the grocery workers, customers, and the first responders who acted swiftly to prevent even greater loss of life–protecting our members and all those in danger inside the store.
“This senseless act of evil also highlights and shines a light on the best of human nature. There are news reports that after gunshots rang out, grocery workers helped customers in the store find safety, directing shoppers to an exit at the back of the store, and assisted one another to escape the danger inside.
“No one should have to fear for their lives while they grocery shop or go to work every day. Unfortunately, our grocery members, frontline Essential Workers, have lived in fear each and every day during the pandemic. These workers have risked getting COVID-19 to make sure shelves were stocked and communities had access to food and other essential services. As COVID-19 cases increased, and colleagues fell ill and some died, they continued to go to work, even as they faced COVID-19 workplace hazards, as well as hostile customers including verbal and physical attacks by unstable members of the public.
“For the last year our members and other associates have fought an invisible enemy, COVID-19, but today several innocent souls were killed by an evil human. We call on government officials and employers to do more to protect our members and communities from the constant threat of violence.”
“Local 7 continues to monitor the situation as details become available.”
On Tuesday morning, UFCW Local 7 said 32 employees were at the store and helped customers flee to safety.
"UFCW is calling for an immediate investigation into this shooting, urging Gov. Polis and Colorado leaders to work with law enforcement to determine how this happened," UFCW Local 7 said Tuesday. "The victims and their families deserve answers and need to know our leaders are doing all they can to prevent future tragedies like this from endangering even more of our country’s brave essential workers.”
The University of Colorado Boulder has canceled classes beginning 5:30 p.m. or later due to the ongoing police situation.
CU Alert 3: Classes beginning at 5:30 p.m. and later are canceled due to an ongoing police situation off campus. Visit https://t.co/VBGm0DszAh for updates.
— CU Boulder Police (@CUBoulderPolice) March 22, 2021
Anyone who witnessed anything is asked to call the Boulder Police Department at (303) 441-3333.
This is a developing news story and will be updated.
