At least 10 people were killed in the shooting that occurred Wednesday afternoon at the King Scoopers supermarket in Table Mesa, Colorado.
Among the victims is a police officer, Boulder Police Department Commander Kerry Yamaguchi said during an evening news conference.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting.
Yamaguchi said
there is no longer a threat to public safety,
although he asked people to stay away from the crime scene.
[A "sex addict" white male is charged in the Atlanta shootings that left eight dead, including six women of Asian descent]
The aggressor was injured and is being treated in a hospital in the area, he is the only person reported as injured, although there were several fatalities.
His motive for the attack is also unknown
.
Authorities arrived at the scene of the active shooting minutes after receiving a call for help, shortly before 3:00 pm Central time.
Aerial image of the King Scoopers supermarket in Colorado, where police responded to an active shooting on March 22, 2021. KUSA
A family reunification center has been established
at the University of Colorado Events Center, where people searching for loved ones they couldn't locate after the attack can go, said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. .
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that it was assisting local authorities with the investigation.
A police officer, among the "multiple killed" in a shooting at a Colorado supermarket
March 23, 202101: 47
Reports from people who were at the scene indicate that
the victims were attacked in the entrance area of the store
and that the shooting lasted about 15 minutes.
A user of the social network Youtube shared a live video from the parking lot of the supermarket in question, in which what appears to be shots is heard and it is appreciated how dozens of agents surrounded the entrance of the building, some aboard armored vehicles.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a special tactics SWAT team was deployed to the site.
Police respond to a shooting at a King Scoopers supermarket in Colorado on March 22, 2021.
At one point, a shirtless man was observed leaving the store handcuffed by the police.
There was blood running down his leg.
But the authorities have not clarified if this subject was the suspect.
Soon after
, the police managed to pull several people out of the supermarket and into the parking lot
, where officers offered them blankets.
Many of them cried while being escorted.
"I am closely watching the events unfolding at Boulder's King Scoopers. My prayers go out to the people of Colorado at this time of sadness and pain as we learn more about the magnitude of the tragedy," the state governor tweeted, Jared Schultz Polis.
[Commotion in Mexico after the massacre of 13 policemen in Coatepec Harinas]
Several witnesses reported that people were shot inside and outside the store.
Boulder, Colorado, police respond to an active shooting at King Scoopers grocery store on March 22, 2021 Boulder Police Department
Dean Schiller, a witness, said he was about to go into the store to go shopping when he heard gunshots and
saw three people who appeared to have been injured
.
Two were outside the supermarket and the other was inside.
An employee told him there was an armed attacker inside, so he rushed to safety.
Another person told KUSA, an affiliate of our sister network NBC News, that
her granddaughters had gone to the supermarket with their son-in-law to get vaccinated against COVID-19
when the shooting occurred.
The girls hid inside a closet for an hour until authorities broke through the roof and rescued them.
"This is heartbreaking," he said.
About two hours after the first reports of the shooting, Boulder Police said they were responding to another report of a gunman at the intersection of 17th Avenue and Grove Street, about four miles from the affected supermarket.
[A white man is arrested after assaulting two Asian people in downtown San Francisco]
"The Police Department is investigating to determine if this is related to the King Scoopers shooting," authorities tweeted.
After circling an address at the aforementioned address for almost an hour, the police ruled out that the incident was related to the shooting at the supermarket.
