A shooting in a Colorado supermarket killed 10 people on Monday, including a police officer, and a suspect was in custody, officials said.
Commander of the Boulder Police. Kerry Yamaguchi said at a news conference that the suspect was being treated, but gave no further details about the shooting or how many people were killed. Shortly thereafter, the police said 10 people, including a police officer, were killed.
Police officers escorted a shirtless man with blood running down his leg out of the store in handcuffs, but officials did not say whether that was the suspect.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the authorities know how many people were killed and suggested they would not release the number because they had to notify the victims’ families.
Yamaguchi said the police are still investigating and have 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 lying face down, two in the parking lot and one near the door. He said he “didn’t know if they were breathing”.
The video posted on YouTube showed one person on the floor, inside the King Soopers store, and two more outside, on the floor, but the extent of the injuries was unclear. What appears to be 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 that “we have been notified that we will not receive any additional patients”.
Police and police vehicles crowded 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 (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver.
Some windows at the front of the store were broken. At one point, authorities through a loudspeaker said that the building was surrounded and that “you need to surrender”. They said to leave with their hands up and unarmed.
Sarah Moonshadow told the Denver Post that two shots were fired shortly after she and her son, Nicolas Edwards, finished buying strawberries. She said she told her son to go down and then “we just run”.
As soon as they left, she said they saw a body in the parking lot. Edwards said the police sped into the parking lot and stopped beside the body.
“I knew we couldn’t do anything for the guy,” 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 crackles.
“I was then in front of a stampede,” he said.
Bentz said he jumped off a loading dock in the back to escape and that the younger ones were helping the older ones out of it.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis tweeted a statement that “your heart is breaking 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 security resources available to help the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department while working to protect the store.”
Boulder police told people to take shelter amid an account of an “armed and dangerous individual” about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away from the supermarket, but then he got up and police vehicles were seen leaving the area residential close to downtown and the University of Colorado. They said they were investigating whether the report was related to the shooting in the supermarket, but said at the press conference that night it was unrelated.
The FBI said it is helping with the investigation at the request of the Boulder police.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that President Joe Biden had been informed of the shooting.
In a statement, the King Soopers network offered “thoughts, prayers and support to our associates, customers and the first respondents who courageously responded to this tragic situation. We will continue to cooperate with local authorities and our store will remain closed during the police investigation. “
Kevin Daly, owner of Under the Sun Eatery and Pizzeria Restaurant, about a block from the supermarket, said he was at his store when he saw police cars arriving and shoppers running from the supermarket. He said he took in several people to keep them warm, and others boarded a bus provided by the Boulder police and were taken away.
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Associated Press reporters James Anderson and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this story.