BOULDER, Colorado – While gunfire echoed inside King Soopers, near Table Mesa Road in Boulder on Monday afternoon, the team inside the supermarket was directing customers to the back and telling them to get out. as secure as possible.
One such customer was Andrew Hummel.
“I heard a big bang and then everyone ran towards the back of the store,” Hummel told Adi Guajardo of Denver7 near the store while the police continued to work in an active sniper situation, which was first reported around 2:45 pm on Monday. “I did not see anything; I could just hear … and just run – I just wanted to get out of there. There was so much going on in such a compact area. “
Hummel said that as soon as he left, he immediately called his parents and his friend and roommate Mason, who works at the store.
“It was a truly horrible experience,” said Hummel, recalling the chaos inside the grocery store.
‘Multiple shots for sure’: eyewitness describes the scene of the active sniper inside the Boulder King Soopers
Hummel said his first priority was to make sure Mason left safely, and later Mason was hiding in a warehouse with other customers.
“One of the biggest scary texts he sent, he just said, ‘I love you. Thanks for everything, in case things go wrong. ‘That was a very difficult text, especially because it is in this situation, ”said Hummel. “This was something I would never want to hear from any of my friends. It was horrible. It was really awful. “
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For Neven and Qinlyn Sloan, who were also inside by the time the shooting started, a normal day at the store ended with loud bangs.
“I just heard a big bang and thought, ‘This is kind of weird.’ Like, I didn’t know if it was like a shot or something, but it was probably three seconds before we heard another guy, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and I immediately ran up to her and said, ‘Hey, we have to leave hence ‘and like, pushing the emergency door’, ”said Neven, who added that although he never saw the sniper, he spoke to someone in front who saw someone fall.
Neven told Sloan Dickey of Denver7 that he and another man named Michael helped people get out of the picture.
The newly married couple told Denver7 that they remained on the scene to pray for people affected by the shooting.
Sarah Moonshadow, who told Adi Guajardo of Denver7 who lives about a kilometer from the store, said she heard about four shots while standing at the checkout before telling her 21-year-old son to start running.
“I said, ‘Just run, don’t look! Just run! “Moonshadow said, recalling the chaotic moment inside the King Soopers.” The person who was shooting was definitely coming towards us and shot close enough to us that we could feel the concussions. … I just looked at [my son] and kept running. I didn’t want to see anything but your face. I just wanted to make sure he did well. ”
Moonshadow said that she and her son left the King Soopers site safely, but as they made their way to safety, they both found a man lying on the street.
‘I just wanted my son to be okay’: an emotional eyewitness account of the Boulder King Soopers shooting
“I started running towards you to try to help you and my son grabbed me by the jacket and said, ‘No, we can’t help you. We have to go, ‘”said Moonshadow, adding that she and her son continued running and hid in a stone barrier as the shooting unfolded.
“I wanted to try to help that guy on the road and I couldn’t because he was too close and we had to go,” said Moonshadow with tears in his eyes.
James Graham, who works at NOAA, was checking out at the self-checkout on the south side of the store when he suddenly started hearing shots.
“I probably heard 30 shots. It was just pop, pop, pop, pop, pop! Graham said Adi Guajardo of Denver7. “It was the most terrible event I have ever been through. I mean, I went through an active sniper exercise, but you know, you get ready for it. “
When asked if that training prepared him for what unfolded inside King Soopers on Monday, Graham said, “No. No. It happened so fast and it was so loud that … no. Yes, it was … I’m still in shock about it. “
Graham told Denver7 that he looked like he was being shot and said the shooting must have happened very close to him because he remembers smelling the gunpowder of the shots as he ran out of the store.
“Why would anyone do that, I don’t know. Only …. I do not know. Especially in this type of neighborhood, I mean, this is a cool neighborhood where it happens, it’s just unbelievable. “
Witness of the King Soopers shooting describes the scene
For Andy Arellano, an employee at the King Soopers factory, the first thing that came to mind was his family.
“I was just listening (to the shots) and thinking about my family,” he told Gary Brode of Denver7. “My heart was racing. I’ve never had that kind of situation before, you know? ”
Arenallo remembers thinking that the shooting was taking place before suddenly realizing what was really going on when dozens of people started running towards his location.
Speaking from outside the store, Arellano said he and others left the store through one of the back doors near the bakery section, thanks in part to the help of a co-worker who set the alarm and showed him where to go.
‘I’m still shaking’: King Soopers official reports deadly mass shooting
Out of the store and out of danger, Arellano had only one thought in mind.
“I am more concerned with my co-workers; if they are alive, you know? I’m trying to look for them. I’m trying to talk to them, ”he said.
Arellano also recalled how one of his managers helped an elderly man find security, but the images of what happened on Monday afternoon, he said, will stay with him forever.
“It will probably stay in my head for a long time, no matter what. Just hearing the shots, it’s like bringing it back, “said Arellano.” But it won’t go away. It will always stay there. “
Denver reporters Sloan Dickey, Adi Guajardo and Gary Brode7 contributed to this report.