10 killed in Colorado grocery store shooting

Ten people were killed in a shooting at a Colorado grocery store yesterday, marking the seventh mass shooting in the US in seven days.

Multiple mass shooting events have taken place in the state in the previous decades. Here's a look at some of them:

CNN defines a mass shooting as a shooting incident which results in four or more casualties (dead or wounded) excluding the shooter(s).

Officer Eric Talley was the first officer to respond to reports of an armed man inside a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday — and it's where the father of seven died after actions that were described as "heroic" by officials.

The member of the Boulder Police Department was one of 10 people killed when a gunman opened fire at the King Soopers store. Officials have not disclosed the names of the other victims.

Talley, 51, had been a member of the force since 2010, according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.

He is the first officer from the Boulder police department to be killed in the line of duty since 1994 and the sixth on-duty death in the department's history, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

"Didn't surprise me he was the first one there," Talley's father, Homer Talley, told CNN affiliate KUSA.

He is survived by his wife and seven children, the oldest of whom is 20, according to his father. "He loved his family more than anything," Homer Talley said.

He described his son was a prankster with a "great sense of humor," the affiliate reported.

In 2013, Talley was among a small group of Boulder officers who made headlines after a duckling rescue from a drainage ditch. The officer had "waded into the calf-deep water to try to round up the ducks" and save them, the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder had reported.

According to KUSA, Homer Talley said his son had recently been looking into becoming a drone operator because he believed it was safer.

The fallen officer "served in numerous roles supporting the Boulder Police Department and the community of Boulder," the chief told reporters.

He was remembered as "one of the outstanding officers" by the county's district attorney.

Multiple law enforcement agencies held a rolling vigil in Talley's honor Monday night.

Local, state and federal partners are all working on the investigation into the shooting, along with prosecutors from the US Attorney's Office "to ensure that justice is done," Dougherty told reporters.

Vice President Kamala Harris called the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting an absolute tragedy.

Harris was ceremonially swearing in William Burns to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Harris did not respond to a question on whether gun legislation is more of a priority in the wake of the two recent shootings. 

Watch Kamala Harris respond to Colorado shooting:

Correction: The post's headline and text has been updated to reflect Harris' correct comments. The print pool incorrectly transcribed her remarks. 

Law enforcement officials will hold a news conference this morning in Boulder, Colorado, at 8:30 a.m. MT (10:30 a.m. ET).

Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed Monday when a gunman attacked a King Soopers grocery store in Colorado. A suspect is in custody, but authorities did not share his identity or any possible motive.

Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed Monday when a gunman attacked a King Soopers grocery store in Colorado. Law enforcement officials are expected to hold a news conference later this morning.

Police are just beginning what they say could be at least five days of investigation, and many questions about the mass shooting and the motivation behind the attack are still unclear.

Here is what we know and don't know so far:

What we know: A suspect is in custody and ongoing details of how the shooting unfolded continue to emerge. According to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold, the first 911 calls reporting shots fired came in around 2:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET) on Monday, and Officer Eric Talley was the first officer to arrive at the scene.

At 2:40 p.m, officers radioed that they were in a gunfight, according to audio from scanner traffic. Nine minutes later, Boulder police tweeted that there was an "Active Shooter at the King Soopers on Table Mesa. AVOID THE AREA."

Scanner traffic shows police continued to report that they were being fired at with multiple rounds through at least 3:21 p.m.

"He's armed with a rifle, our officers shot back and returned fire — we do not know where he is in the store," one officer said.

Ambulances and multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the store, which is part of a large shopping center with a two-story strip mall next door. At one point, police were seen moving on the roof of the store. The reason for the movements was unclear, but one witness who spoke to CNN affiliate KCNC said his relatives in the store were evacuated through the roof.

Talley, 51, was killed at the scene, police chief Herold said. Talley, a father of seven, had joined the Boulder police force in 2010, she said.

What we don't know: Officials did not disclose the identity of any of the other victims, saying they needed to first notify family members.

Authorities also did not share the identity of the suspect or any information on the type of weapon used or any possible motive. One senior law enforcement source told CNN the weapon used in the shooting was an AR-15-style rifle.

As events unfolded, KMGH's helicopter recorded a shirtless man being taken from the supermarket. The man had what appeared to be blood on his arm and right leg and his hands appeared to be cuffed behind him as two officers escorted him away. The man was taken away in an ambulance.

It was unclear whether the man was involved in the shooting inside the store.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement following the shooting in Boulder that left 10 people dead less than a week after the spa killings in the Atlanta area.

Pelosi pointed to the two bills the House passed last month — H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act — as an example of Democrats trying to pass legislation affecting the issue.

Those two bills have not gone anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate since passing the House. 

White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond reacted to the Boulder shooting this morning and expressed condolences before calling for “action, not just words and prayers.”

He continued, “This President has a track record of fighting against the NRA and beating them, and we need to make sure that we have sensible gun regulations in this country to ensure safety. And so we need action, not just words and prayers.”

 The White House said last night that President Biden had been briefed on the shooting.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a statement Monday night after ten people were shot and killed at a Boulder supermarket earlier in the day. 

Polis lauded Eric Talley, the Boulder police officer killed while responding to the attack, as well as the nine other victims who lost their lives in the shooting.

“Today we saw the face of evil. I am grieving with my community and all Coloradans,” the governor added.

Ten people, including a police officer, were killed Monday after a gunman opened fire in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, shattering the calm for another US community.

A suspect is in custody, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said, but authorities did not share any information on his identity, the type of weapon used or any possible motive.

"We will work around the clock to get this accomplished," she said, adding that such a complex investigation will take at least five days to complete.

The Boulder police tweeted about 2:49 p.m. local time — which is 4:49 p.m. ET — that there was an "Active Shooter at the King Soopers on Table Mesa. AVOID THE AREA."

In scanner traffic, officers radioed that they were in a gunfight. They continued to report that they were being fired at with multiple rounds through at least 3:21 p.m. local time.

Ambulances and multiple law enforcement agencies arrived at the store, which is part of a large shopping center with a two-story strip mall next door.

"He's armed with a rifle, our officers shot back and returned fire — we do not know where he is in the store," an officer said, according to a transcript of the audio.

Officer Eric Talley was among the first to respond to the grocery store.

CNN affiliate KMGH's helicopter recorded police leading several people away from the store.

At one point, police were also seen moving on the roof. The reason for the roof movements was unclear, but one witness who spoke to CNN affiliate KCNC said his relatives in the store were evacuated through the roof.

As events unfolded, KMGH's helicopter recorded a shirtless man being taken from the supermarket. The man had what appeared to be blood on his arm and right leg and his hands appeared to be cuffed behind him as two officers escorted him away. The man was taken away in an ambulance.

It was unclear whether the man was involved in the reported active shooting inside the store.