10 People Including Police Officer Killed In Mass Shooting At Colorado Grocery Store

Ten people including a police officer were shot dead Monday after a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.

On Monday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET), responding to a 911 call reporting about shots being fired, Officer Eric Talley arrived at the King Soopers grocery store in Colorado.

About 10 mins later, after the backup had arrived, officers radioed in that they are engaged in a gunfight with the attacker.

"Active Shooter at the King Soopers on Table Mesa. AVOID THE AREA," the Boulder police tweeted, nine minutes later.

According to the audio from the scanner traffic, officers continued to report that the gunman was firing multiple rounds at them.

"He's armed with a rifle, our officers shot back and returned fire -- we do not know where he is in the store," one officer reported.

The scene had already created panic and the shoppers and employees ran for cover. The store is part of a large shopping center.

"I just saw a woman’s terrified face coming towards me," Ryan Borowski, a licensed massage therapist who was shopping at the store told New York Times. "I knew to turn and run. It all just blurred together," he said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies and ambulances arrived at the scene. Few officers were seen on the roof of the building trying to evacuate people. Meanwhile, some of the shoppers and employees had already made their way out through the employee stock area and a loading dock located at the back of the store.

"They hid, ran upstairs, were hiding in a coat closet for the last hour," a witness said, CNN reported. "Half a dozen cops came in through the roof and got them and then told them, you know, 'Stay quiet,'" the man said.

SWAT officers with ballistic shields approached the area and a short while later, a handcuffed shirtless man was seen being escorted out from the supermarket. The unidentified man was injured and bleeding from his arm and right leg.

About six hours after the shooting incident, the Boulder police chief, Maris Herold, announced that 10 people including a police officer had been killed in the shooting.

"These were people going about their day, doing their food shopping, and their lives were cut abruptly and tragically short by the shooter, who is now in custody," Michael Dougherty, the Boulder County district attorney, said at a Monday night news conference.

51-year-old Officer Eric Talley, who was the first to respond to the scene was identified as one of the victims.

"He was by all accounts one of the outstanding officers of the Boulder Police Department, and his life was cut too short," Dougherty said.

The authorities have not disclosed the identities of any other victims. The identities will be disclosed after their families are notified.

The police are investigating the incident. The motive behind the shooting is unknown at the moment. The authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of the suspect who is in custody.

"We will work around the clock to get this accomplished," Herold said in the conference.

Following the March 16 shooting at a massage business in the Atlanta-area that claimed the lives of eight people, Monday’s attack was the seventh mass killing reported in the U.S. this year.