Boulder, Colo., shooting that killed 10 was deadliest in US in nearly two years

Caution tape marks the parking lot outside a King Soopers grocery store Tuesday, where a mass shooting took place a day earlier in Boulder, Colo.David Zalubowski/Associated Press

A shooting Monday in Boulder, Colo., that left 10 people dead was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in nearly two years.

The shooting at the King Soopers store was the deadliest since the August 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso that killed 23 people, according to the Violence Project, which maintains a database of shootings in which at least four people were killed.

There had been a lull in mass killings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which had the smallest number of attacks in eight years, according to the database, which is compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today, and Northeastern University. At the same time, 2020 was a record-breaking year for gun violence deaths overall, according to the Gun Violence Archive, with nearly 40,000 people killed.

Police in the city about 25 miles outside of Denver on Tuesday identified the 10 people who were killed and the 21-year-old suspect. The victims ranged in age from 20 to 65.

Officials had said Monday night that Eric Talley, a Boulder police officer who was the first to arrive on the scene, was among those killed. Talley had been on the force since 2010 and leaves behind seven children.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the investigation into the shooting involves local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and will take days to complete.

The attack comes less than a week after eight people, most of whom were women of Asian descent, were killed during shootings at three Atlanta-area spas.