The everyday normalcy of a trip to the grocery store was shattered Monday afternoon in Boulder, Colo., when a gunman opened fire and killed 10 people.
It was the second mass shooting in a public place in the United States in six days, following last Tuesday's attacks at three separate Asian spas in the Atlanta-area, during which eight people were killed.
Prior to the Atlanta attacks, the U.S. had gone a year without a public mass shooting, although gun violence overall increased in 2020 from the previous year. The two public mass shootings in such close succession were a painful reminder that with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, the American epidemic of gun violence continues unabated.
Investigators allege the shooter was 21-year-old Ahmad Alissa of Arvada, Colo. Authorities have not discussed a motive.
He has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. He has yet to enter pleas, and police say he was injured during an exchange of gunfire with police. The suspect was captured on video being led from the supermarket by two officers — with blood, covering his right leg.
Below are the victims of the Boulder attack. This post will be updated as information about the victims becomes known.
Officer Eric Talley, 51
Officer Eric Talley was the first to respond to the deadly grocery store shooting. He had seven children ages 7 to 20.
"He's a better father than I was," his father Homer Talley tells PEOPLE. "He loved his children more than anything else. He was very involved with his kids. He showed them love."
Talley, 51, left his IT job and became a police officer when he was 40.
He made local headlines in 2013 when he rescued several ducks from a drainage pipe.
After his death, a woman posted a personal story on Twitter about how Talley had stayed with her after she'd been victimized by domestic violence.
"Thank you for being my hero that night & thank you for being a hero to everyone in King Soopers today," she wrote.
Kevin Mahoney, 61
Boulder resident Kevin Mahoney, 61, was also killed during Monday's mass shooting.
Just this past summer, Kevin walked his daughter, Erika, down the aisle at her wedding. "My dad represents all things Love," wrote Erika Mahoney in a touching tribute she posted to Twitter.
Before his tragic murder, Kevin learned his daughter was pregnant with a girl of her own.
"I know he wants me to be strong for his granddaughter," Erika, the news director for a California radio station, wrote Tuesday.
Rikki Olds, 25
Speaking to CNN, Bob Olds— the uncle of King Soopers front-end manager Rikki Olds— said his niece was a "strong, independent young woman" who was raised by her grandparents.
On Facebook, Olds' aunt Lori Olds called the 25-year-old a "beautiful young angel."
"Thank you everyone for all your prayers but the Lord got a beautiful young angel yesterday at the hands of a deranged monster," Lori wrote.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lori shared a photo of Olds with the caption: "Why you why not me? You haven't even lived yet…."
Tralona ‘Lonna’ Bartkowiak, 49
Local shop manager Tralona "Lonna" Bartkowiak is being remembered by those who loved her as a source of light.
"I don't even know what to say," friend Edica Pacha wrote on Facebook Tuesday. "[Lonna] was the kindest and sweetest lady you ever did know. All she wanted to do was help and share beauty with others. I am heartbroken for her family. Love you Lonna.. you were such a light."
Bartkowiak was the eldest of four siblings, according to The New York Times. She lived in Boulder with her pet Chihuahua, Opal, and had recently gotten engaged.
"She was just great," her brother, Michael Bartkowiak, told the newspaper. "No, she is great. Still is."
Jody Waters, 65
On Tuesday morning, the owners of Embrazio, a leather accessories company in Boulder, Colorado, posted a photo of Jody Waters to the company's Facebook page.
"Jody was a beautiful soul with a warm and loving heart, a mother and grandmother, and she will be dearly missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her," the post said about the 65-year-old woman they called their friend and colleague. "We are so sad."
Denny Stong, 20
Neven Stanisic, 23
Suzanne Fountain, 59
Teri Leiker, 51
Lynn Murray, 62
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