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‘Amazing comet flying across the sky’: Colorado supermarket shooting victims remembered

A young woman who “brought life” to her family after years of hardship.

A mum and former Marie Claire photo director who was spending her spare time packing grocery bags for disadvantaged people.

A dad of seven children who dedicated his life to serving the community.

They were three of the 10 people killed by an assault weapon inside a supermarket.

Families gathering in Boulder, in the US state of Colorado, have publicly shared their grief as police named the victims who ranged in age from 20 to 65. They also want to know why King Soopers staff and customers were targeted.

The bloodshed was the second mass-shooting in the US this week.

boulder shooting

Staff have told how they ran for their lives as the suspect opened fire. Photo: AAP

“My heart aches today,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said.

“Flags had barely been raised back to full-mast after the tragic shooting in Atlanta that claimed eight lives, and now a tragedy here close to home at a grocery store that could be any of our neighbourhood grocery stores.”

Authorities have charged Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, a 21-year-old from Arvada in nearby Denver, over Tuesday’s murders. The motivation was not yet known, police said.

Eric Talley had served as a police officer for over a decade. Photo: Boulder Police

“It would be premature for us to draw any conclusions at this time,” said FBI agent Michael Schneider.

Police name victims

The victims include Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder police force.

A father of seven children, Officer Talley had been recently looking for a less dangerous job.

His father, Homer Talley, said the world had “lost a great soul”.

“He was a devoted father – seven kids. The youngest was 7 and the oldest was 20, and his family was the joy of his life,” Mr Talley said.

The uncle of 25-year-old Rikki Olds said his niece had worked for the past seven years at the shop where she was fatally shot.

Robert Olds said Ms Olds was a “happy-go-lucky” young woman who “brought life to her family”.

Rikki Olds had worked at the King Soopers for seven years. Photo: Facebook

He said she had persevered through hardships including being abandoned by her mother as a child.

The husband of 62-year-old Lynn Murray described his wife as an “amazing comet”.

“I just want her to be remembered as just as this amazing, amazing comet spending 62 years flying across the sky,” John Mackenzie said.

According to The New York Times, Ms Murray was a former photo director for several New York City magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Glamour.

The other victims were:

  • Denny Strong, aged 20
  • Neven Stanisic, aged 23
  • Tralona Bartkowiak, aged 49
  • Suzanne Fountain, aged 59
  • Teri Leiker, aged 51
  • Kevin Mahoney, aged 61
  • and Jody Waters, aged 65.

The shooting added to the Rocky Mountain state’s tragic list of mass killings that include some of the most shocking episodes of gun violence in US history including the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora and the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School near Littleton.

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