- A massive makeshift
memorial was created outside of the King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado. - Ten people died at the supermarket after a gunman opened fire on March 22.
- Police arrested Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa and charged him with 10 counts of first-degree murder.
Mourners left flowers, teddy bears, and notes outside the Boulder, Colorado King Soopers in the days following a mass shooting that left 10 people dead.
The memorial, honoring those who died in the March 22 shooting, stretched a city block, with signs paying tribute to the victims and others calling for gun control.
"Let's hope our push for change lasts longer than these wilting flowers," one sign read.
Police arrested 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa and charged him with 10 counts of first-degree murder after he allegedly opened fire in the supermarket on March 22.
"We're so sorry. You are missed and loved. Remembered. May you find peace," another sign read.
The victims were: Denny Stong, 20, Neven Stanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Teri Leiker, 51, Eric Talley, 51, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, and Jody Waters, 65.
Talley was the first police officer to respond to the shooting. Boulder's police chief Maris Herold called him a "very kind man."
"He cared about this community. He cared about the Boulder Police Department. He cared about his family and he was willing to die to protect others."
Other messages left in front of the supermarket read "There are the others. The many other gun deaths. Those with no flowers," and "We will remember you."
Three of the victims; Leiker, Olds, and Stong, worked at the supermarket. Leiker's friend Lexi Knutson told Reuters that she loved her job. Stong was the youngest victim and was training to be a pilot.
Olds was a manager at the store. Friends and family described her as a "strong" and "independent."
"If you were having a bad day, Rikki was there to make it better. She would do anything to make you smile. I can definitely recall us talking about tattoos and her uncle Bob saying 'what are you going to get next?' If you needed a pick me up, you knew where to go," family friend Carlee Lough said.
Murray was a retired photo director working as an Instacart shopper. Her daughter, Olivia Mackenzie, said she was "the warmest, kindest, most positive person."
Friends described Fountain as a "very genuine person," "incredibly warm," and "absolutely lovely."
Bartkowiak was picking up a prescription when she was killed. Her brother, Michael Bartkowiak, described her as a "beam of light."
Friends of Waters said she was a "beautiful soul with a warm and loving heart."
Stanisic was a repairman called to fix a coffee machine when he was shot and killed in the parking lot. Family friends said he was "a very good, shy, hardworking boy and one of those kiddos who listened to his parents the best."
Erika Mahoney described her father, Kevin Mahoney, as her "hero."
"My dad represents all things love," she said. "I'm so thankful he could walk me down the aisle last summer."
The shooting reignited conversations around gun laws in the state and country. "Stop the madness. Ban assault weapons. Call your representatives every week," one sign read. "How many more?" read another.
Police said Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic pistol on March 16, less than a week before the shooting.
Colorado is a shall-issue state and residents can get concealed carry permits from their local sheriff's offices. The state also has no waiting period between when a person buys a gun and when they are actually allowed to take possession of it, according to the Giffords Law Center.
The city of Boulder had enacted two ordinances that banned possessing or selling assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in 2018 after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Florida.
Less than a week before the shooting, Boulder County District Court Judge Andrew Hartman ruled that the city can't enforce those ordinances because Colorado's state government prohibits local governments from passing their own gun control measures. Both ordinances were overturned, according to the Denver Post.
One person pinned a note saying they lost a friend in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting and included their number if anyone needed someone to talk to.
Another left a box of tissues in case anyone needed one.