Hundreds of residents gathered along a procession route on Wednesday for slain hero, Eric Talley, as Boulder police, paramedics and firefi...
Hundreds of residents gathered along a procession route on Wednesday for slain hero, Eric Talley, as Boulder police, paramedics and firefighters honored the officer just two days after he was shot dead by a gunman who opened fire at a supermarket, killing nine others.
Talley, 51, was the first officer to arrive to the scene of the King Soopers supermarket just before 3pm Monday afternoon. He was killed while trying to help shoppers and employees escape a gunman inside.
Nine other men and women were killed by suspected gunman, Ahmad Alissa, 21, who now faces 10 counts of murder.
In honor of Talley, an 11-year veteran with the Boulder police force, officers from the Boulder Police Department, paramedics and local firefighters held a procession on Wednesday.
Law enforcement vehicles were seen escorting Talley's body from the coroner's office to a funeral home in Boulder as hundreds of local residents turned out to salute the officer.
Some were seen creating hearts with their hands as the vehicle carrying Talley's body passed by. Others were seen waving Blue Lives Matter and American flags.
Makeshift memorials of flowers, votive candles and condolence messages sprang up this week outside the supermarket and at police headquarters.
The memorial near the supermarket has been adorned with wreaths, candles, banners reading '#Boulderstrong' and 10 crosses with blue hearts and the victims' names.
Several other community vigils were planned this week to honor the victims.
Homer Talley described his son as a devoted father who 'knew the Lord.' He had seven children, ages 7 to 20.
Alissa will make his first court appearance on Thursday. He faces 10 counts of murder and an attempted murder charge stemming from the rampage on Monday at King Soopers grocery store in the Table Mesa section of Boulder, some 28 miles northwest of Denver.
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Law enforcement vehicles escort the body of slain Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley to a funeral home on Wednesday in Boulder, Colorado
Talley, 51, was the first officer to arrive to the scene of the King Soopers supermarket just before 3pm Monday afternoon. He was killed while trying to help shoppers and employees escape a gunman inside. His body was escorted from the coroner's officer to a funeral home on Wednesday
In honor of Talley, an 11-year veteran with the Boulder police force, officers from the Boulder Police Department, paramedics and local firefighters held a procession on Wednesday
Members of the North Metro Fire Rescue salute on their firetruck during the procession of Officer Talley from an overpass on the US 36 on Wednesday
Members of the Boulder Police Department line the side of the road as law enforcement vehicles escort Talley's body to a funeral home
Members of the Boulder Fire Department stand at ease as law enforcement vehicles escort Talley's body to a funeral home on Wednesday
Officers are seen saluting a hearse carrying Talley's body on Wednesday to a funeral home
Crowds line the streets as the body of Talley is transported to a funeral on Wednesday
Firefighters stand on the side of the road while waiting for a procession of law enforcement vehicles escorting Talley's body
Members of the North Metro Fire Rescue wait on their firetruck for the procession of Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley on an overpass on the US 36 on Wednesday
Some local residents seen creating hearts with their hands as the vehicle carrying Talley's body passed by
A man is seen waving a Blue Lives Matter flag during the procession on Wednesday
A woman holds her hand over her heart as the procession passes by on Wednesday
A man is seen waving an American flag as Talley's procession passes by on Wednesday
He will appear in county court in Boulder at 8.15am, according to court records.
Police have not yet publicly identified a motive for the killings. Alissa's 34-year-old brother described him as antisocial and paranoid in an interview with the Daily Beast.
The suspect's sister-in-law told police on Monday evening that he had been 'playing with' a firearm she described as resembling a 'machine gun' two days earlier, upsetting family members, according to an arrest affidavit filed by police in the case.
The gunman arrived at the King Soopers store armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and a handgun and wearing a tactical vest, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also said law enforcement databases show that six days earlier Alissa purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a weapon that resembles a semi-automatic rifle.
Alissa, a naturalized US citizen from Syria who graduated from Arvada West High School in 2018, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for punching a classmate in late 2017.
Makeshift memorials of flowers, votive candles and condolence messages sprang up this week outside the supermarket and at police headquarters
Talley's vehicle was adorned with flowers and messages following his death on Monday
A woman is seen hanging flowers on the fence outside the King Soopers supermarket on Wednesday
A woman is overcome with emotion as she prepares to place a flower at the makeshift memorial outside the King Soopers store on Wednesday
The memorial near the supermarket has been adorned with wreaths, candles, banners reading '#Boulderstrong' and 10 crosses with blue hearts and the victims' names
People pay their respects at a memorial outside a King Soopers grocery store on Wednesday after the shooting
The classmate said the attack was unprovoked, an account supported by interviews with several witnesses, according to an Arvada Police Department incident report. Alissa told an officer the classmate had called him a 'terrorist' and racist names.
Alissa was sentenced to probation and community service.
Those killed in the massacre include: Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
Stong, Olds and Leiker worked at the store, authorities confirmed.
Witnesses told police the assailant killed one man in his vehicle and then gunned down another in the parking lot. The shooter stood over him, firing multiple times, before entering the store to continue the rampage.
When apprehended, Alissa did not answer questions but asked to speak with his mother, according to the affidavit.
The Boulder shooting occurred less than a week after eight people were killed across three Atlanta-based spas.
Both the Boulder and Atlanta-area shootings prompted President Joe Biden to call on Congress to tighten gun laws.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring forward two House-passed bills to require expanded background checks for gun buyers. Biden supports the measures, but they face a tougher route to passage in the Senate, with its slim Democratic majority.
Colorado has seen some of the most shocking episodes of gun violence in US history, including the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora and the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School, near Littleton.
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