Boulder shooting: Biden calls for immediate gun control action as details on suspected shooter emerge
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The Boulder Police Department has revealed the names of the 10 people killed during a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, with local police officer Eric Talley, 51, among the victims.
The youngest victim was 20 years old and the oldest victim was 65 years old. Their families were notified shortly after 3am local time on Tuesday morning after all victims were identified by police.
Police also revealed the identity of the 21-year-old suspect. He was currently in the hospital seeking medical treatment but in stable condition, police said. He is expected to be released from the hospital and transported to Boulder County Jail later on Tuesday.
The suspect was charged with 10 counts of murder following the attack that started at 3pm local time on Monday. Eyewitnesses described a male gunman in tactical gear opening fire in silence on terrified shoppers.
“We had a very tragic incident today,” Chief Yamaguchi said on Monday. “There was loss of life, we have multiple people who were killed in this incident, and I am sorry to have to report that one of them was a Boulder police officer.”
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The attack stunned a state that has seen several mass shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting.
Police name the 10 victims in the Boulder mass shooting
These are the 10 lives lost during the Boulder grocery store shooting on Monday:
Denny Stong, 20
Neven Stanisic, 23
Rikki Olds, 25
Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
Suzanne Fountain, 59
Teri Leiker, 51
Officer Eric Talley, 51
Kevin Mahoney, 61
Lynn Murray, 62
Jody Waters, 65
An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of Denny Stong. The misspelling has since been corrected.
President to give remarks soon on Colorado mass shooting
President Joe Biden will give a statement soon about the mass shooting that took place in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, the White House said.
Vice President Kamala Harris already spoke about the shooting earlier on Tuesday.
“It’s tragic. It’s absolutely tragic. It’s tragic. 10 people who were going about their day, living their lives, not bothering anybody. A police officer who was performing his duties, and with great courage and heroism,” she said earlier on Tuesday.
One of the Boulder shooting victims is identified as a grocery store manager
Rikki Olds, 25, was among the 10 victims named from the Boulder shooting at a local King Soopers on Monday, her aunt confirmed to The Denver Post.
Lori Olds told the publication that police informed her around 3am local time on Tuesday that her niece was dead.
The 25-year-old worked as a front-end manager at the King Soopers grocery store, the aunt said, which was located at 3600 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, Colorado.
“Thank you everyone for all your prayers but the Lord got a beautiful young angel yesterday at the hands of a deranged monster,” Lori Olds wrote in a public post on her Facebook page Tuesday morning.
Boulder Police Chief reads the names of the mass shooting victims
NRA bragged about blocking ban on AR-15 guns in Boulder days before mass shooting
The National Rifle Association (NRA) bragged about the blocking of a ban on AR-15 rifles in Boulder a week before a gunman reportedly used one in a mass shooting to kill ten people on Monday.
The Denver Post reported last week that a judge blocked Boulder from enforcing its two-year-old ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in the city.
In response to the ruling, the NRA posted on its official Twitter account on 18 March saying: "A Colorado judge gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate."
Suspected gunman is described as paranoid by brother
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was charged with 10 counts of murder in the first degree for the events that took place at a local grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday.
When speaking to The Daily Beast, Alissa’s brother described the suspected gunman as “deeply distrubed” and paranoid.
“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,” Ali Aliwi Alissa, 34, told the publication.
The brother believed the 21-year-old was mentally ill, he added.
Police took the suspected gunman into custody on Monday evening following the shooting at a King Soopers grocery store. He was then taken to the hospital for a “through and through” leg wound, police said.
They anticipated he would be transported to the Boulder County Jail later on Tuesday.
Obama pays tributes to the lives lost in the Boulder mass shooting
Former President Barack Obama has released a statement following the mass shooting that took place on Monday evening in Boulder, Colorado.
“Michelle and I grieve with the families of the victims of the shooting in Boulder, just as we grieve with the families of the people killed in Atlanta and everyone else who has lost a loved one to gun violence,” he wrote.
Mr Obama said he was grateful for the “courage of Officer Eric Talley, who ran into danger to protect others.” Mr Talley, 51, was one of the 10 victims in the shooting on Monday.
“A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country,” Mr Obama continued. “We shouldn’t have to choose between one tragedy and another. It’s time for the leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enough – because this is a normal we can no longer afford.”
Read the full statement here:
Boulder police reveal the photo of the suspected gunman
The Boulder Police Department has released a picture of the suspected gunman, who was identified as 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa.
The gunman was a resident of Arvada, Colorado, and held a local address.
He was charged with 10 counts of murder in the first degree following the mass shooting that took place a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.
The suspected gunman was taken to the hospital on Monday for a “through and through” leg wound. He was expected to be transported to Boulder County Jail later on Tuesday, police said in a release.
Watch as President Joe Biden speaks about the Boulder mass shooting
Biden honours victims in speech while calling on Congress to pass gun reform legislation
President Joe Biden spoke about the mass shooting the country witnessed in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday that left 10 people dead.
“I even hate to say it, because we’re saying it so often: my heart goes out. Our hearts go out for the survivors,” Mr Biden said.
The flags, which were already lowered to half-staff to honour the eight victims from the Atlanta spas shooting last week, would remain at half-staff until 27 March to honour the 10 victims from Boulder, Colorado.
Officer Eric Talley, 51, was one of the 10 victims at the local King Soopers grocery store after being one of the first responders to the mass shooting.
“When he pinned on that badge yesterday morning he didn’t know what the day would bring,” Mr Biden said about the officer, “but when the moment to act came, officer Talley did not hesitate. That’s the definition of an American hero.”
Mr Biden said that he would speak again to the public once more details were known of the events that took place in Colorado. But he called on Congress to pass gun legislation reform that would save more lives.
“This is not and should not be a partisan issue,” he said. “This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives. We have to act. And we should also ban assault weapons in the process.”
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