10 people, including a police officer, were killed by a gunman at a grocery store in Colorado in the United States. The dead included the first police officer to respond to the shooting, 51-year-old Eric Talley. Talley had been the father of seven children.

According to the BBC, an injured suspect was eventually detained by police at the King Soopers market in Boulder, after hours of a standoff between police and the assailant. The BBC reports that the incident began at about 14:30 local time on Monday when the suspect entered the supermarket, located in a busy shopping plaza, and began firing. Witnesses live streamed and broadcast the incident on YouTube.

Boulder County’s district attorney, Michael Dougherty, said, “These were people going about their day, doing their shopping. I promise the victims and the people of the state of Colorado that we will secure justice.”

Shoppers and employees of the store were forced to dive for cover or flee to safety. One shopper caught up in the shooting with her said, “We were at the checkout, and shots just started going off.” She said she had tried to help one of the victims lying on the  pavement outside the store, but her son pulled her away saying “We have to go…”. Another said, “This feels like the safest spot in America, and I just nearly got killed for getting a soda and a bag of chips.”

Boulder chief of police, Maris Herold confirmed that a suspect was in hospital receiving treatment. She added that the investigation was “very complex”, saying it would take “no less than five days to complete”.

The BBC reports that the supermarket shooting was the seventh mass killing so far this year alone. There was reportedly a lull in mass killings during the pandemic last year.

US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, last month said he would be recommending tougher laws to ensure background checks on anyone looking to buy a firearm.

Umm Muhammed Umar