Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said the dead included officer Eric Talley, who was the first to arrive at the scene after reports of gunfire. Herold called Talley’s actions “heroic.”
Herold told reporters at a nighttime briefing that one suspect was in custody, and that the investigation of the shootings was expected to take at least five days.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said it was too early to speculate on a motive for the attack. He said Boulder “suffered a terrible and horrific mass shooting.”
“These people were 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. “I promise the victims and the people of Colorado that we will secure justice and do everything we must do to get justice in this case.”
Authorities said efforts to identify the other victims and notify their families were ongoing.
Gun debate in Congress
Mass shootings in the United States rekindle the debate about access to guns in the country. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on “Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence,” the first of a series of hearings planned to discuss steps in reducing gun violence.
Colorado has been the sight of several mass shootings in recent times, including a 2012 attack at a movie theater in Aurora and the 1999 attack at a school in Columbine.
Monday’s attack comes a week after the killing of eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses. It was at least the seventh mass killing this year in the United States.
