Longmont residents, police and officials were thinking of their neighbors in Boulder Tuesday in the wake of the grocery store shooting that left 10 people dead, including a police officer.
“I’m surprised somebody would have the heart to do that, go out and do something so evil,” Matthew Cavcey said Tuesday as he parked cars for the Longs Peak Hospital valet service.
His reaction was typical among Boulder's next-door neighbors to the news of the Monday afternoon shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder. Ten people ranging from ages 20 to 65 were killed, including Boulder police officer Eric Talley.
A 21-year-old man from Arvada, identified by police as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, was wounded by police and taken into custody. Court documents showed he purchased an assault rifle less than a week before the attack, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities said Alissa was from Arvada and that he engaged in a shootout with police inside the store, the AP reported. He was being treated at a hospital and was expected to be booked into the Boulder County Jail later in the day on murder charges, according to the AP.
Investigators have not established a motive, but authorities believe he was the only shooter, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.
The suspect purchased the assault weapon on March 16, according to an arrest affidavit.
The shooting came 10 days after a judge blocked a ban on assault rifles passed by the city of Boulder in 2018, the AP reported.
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legal Action in a post to its website said the decision “gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate.”
Longmont resident Chris Higgs, 38, said he doesn't think about active shooter situations at the workplace much, but the news yesterday was very familiar.
“Not again,” he recalled thinking when he heard the news. “Sad to say, you kind of hear about it a lot these days. Still doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Mental health needs to be more readily available. There has to be a way so we don’t have the people that are going to do these things get the guns.”
Longmont's Melinda Slaughter, 52, works in administration for the University of Colorado Boulder and said she probably thinks about awful scenarios at her workplace too much.
“I was concerned for my faculty and students,” Slaughter said. “It’s becoming more and more of a weekly concern. It shows that you’re just not safe anywhere anymore. I think they should have never lifted the bans on the AR-15, but as long as the NRA is controlling our country, there’s not much we can do. My heart goes out to all the families and friends of the people involved. Even the people that were there that weren’t injured, they’re going to need help.”
The NRA has not made a statement on the shooting, but in a tweet Monday night stated, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
In a statement issued Monday, Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley said, “The Longmont community stands strong with our friends and neighbors in Boulder after Monday’s horrific events. Although our hearts are broken and the pain runs deep, we offer our help and support to the city of Boulder and to the victims of this senseless tragedy. Our helping hand also extends to our colleagues in municipal service and law enforcement who acted courageously in the face of great danger to protect the community.”
Longmont police and Boulder County Sheriff's vehicles could be seen streaking down Ken Pratt Boulevard in the direction of Boulder around 3 p.m. Monday.
Longmont Public Safety provided patrol officers, detectives and a portion of its SWAT team to assist Boulder police “while maintaining our commitment to provide service to the Longmont community," Robin Ericson, Longmont Public Safety communications and marketing manager, said via email Tuesday. "We will continue to support Boulder Police as we are needed."
In his statement, Bagley said, “the loss of Officer Eric Talley will forever leave an agonizing scar on the hearts of all who knew him and worked with him. I know his sacrifice resonates profoundly throughout the Longmont community, especially his colleagues and friends in Longmont Public Safety. Our law enforcement agencies have worked closely together and have built an unbreakable bond to safeguard the communities that we love. He will be missed.”
Bagley also said “we all have much healing to do in the coming weeks and months. As neighboring cities, we are geographically and intrinsically linked. When you hurt, we hurt. When you grieve, we grieve with you. Longmont is committed to helping the Boulder community cope with the anguish and mend the wounds. Just know that Longmont has your back.”
A number of community events have been organized to pay tribute to the victims of the shootings, including a Boulder Strong candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Fairview High School in Boulder, and a candlelight walk at 6:30 p.m. today starting in the parking lot of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
The Community Foundation Boulder County on Tuesday also announced the creation of the Boulder Crisis Fund to “to support the victims, their families, and our community in dealing with and processing yesterday’s events.”
The fund, according to the foundation, was created in partnership with the city of Boulder, Rose Community Foundation, the Longmont Community Foundation, Together Colorado (a faith coalition including Westview Church, Congregation Har Hashem, Congregation Bonai Shalom, First Congregational Church and Boulder Mennonite Church), and the Colorado Healing Fund.
To make a donation to the fund, click here.
