Grocery Store Worker Recalls Moment Gunman Surrendered | 22 Words

A King Scoopers worker has recalled the harrowing moment the Boulder gunman surrendered to police in the aftermath of his killing spree.

Read on to hear what actually happened...

Now, the country remains in a state of shock following Monday's horrifying mass shooting in Colorado.

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Police responded to reports of an "active shooter" at the King Soopers grocery store just before 3 pm local time on Monday in Boulder.

Ten people, a responding police officer included, tragically lost their lives in the attack...

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And the gunman was arrested in the hours following the masacre.

Boulder police chief, Maris Herold, announced the death toll at a news conference on Monday night...

And, visibly overcome with emotion, fought back tears as she spoke.

​The victim's identities have since been released.

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As per the BBC, their names are:

Denny Stong, twenty, Neven Stanisic, twenty-three, Rikki Olds, twenty-five, Tralona Bartkowiak, forty-nine, Suzanne Fountain, fifty-nine, Teri Leiker, fifty-one, Eric Talley, fifty-one, Kevin Mahoney, sixty-one, Lynn Murray, sixty-two, and Jody Waters, sixty-five.

People from all around the world have been left heartbroken over the attack...

And millions have been sending in their condolences for all the victims and their families during this terrible time.

But people are also angry.

This deadly shooting comes just 1 week after another gunman opened fire in Atlanta and killed 8 innocent people.

Many customers who were in the store that day and thankfully survived witnessed the bloodshed...

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And they have been speaking to numerous news outlets about the harrowing things they saw during that terrifying hour.

"We were at the checkout, and shots just started going off."

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Sarah Moonshadow, forty-two, a customer and resident of Boulder, was in the store with her son, Nicholas, on Monday and recounted scenes of pandemonium as gunfire rang out.

"I said, 'Nicholas get down.' And Nicholas ducked. And we just started listening and there, just repetitive shots ... And I just said, 'Nicholas, run'," she told Reuters, as per The Guardian.

Another customer, Ryan Borowski, was inside the store when the shooting began.

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He told CNN: "I saw terrified faces running towards me and that's when I turned and ran the other direction."

He said staff helped customers to exit from the back of the store but some people just froze on the spot: "We ran and I don't know why other people didn't and I am sorry that they froze and I just wish that this didn't happen – I wish I had an answer for why it did."

Alex Arellano, thirty-five, was working in the meat department at King Soopers when he heard gunshots and saw people running for the exit.

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"I thought I was going to die," he told the New York Times, when he heard the shot getting closer, "I'm thinking of my parents, and I was freaking out."

He hid with 2 other men before escaping through a rear exit.

Yesterday, President Biden called for a nationwide ban on assault weapons, background check reforms, and changes to gun restrictions in his first meeting since the shooting.

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"I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps that will save lives in the future," he said in a statement.

But now, as the country continues to come to terms with what happened, there has been a different talking point entirely...

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And that's the person responsible for this terrible tragedy.

On Tuesday, authorities identified the gunman as twenty-one-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa.

CNN reported that authorities believe Alissa was the only person involved and that there was no additional threat to the community.

The suspect has been charged with ten counts of first-degree murder and 1 charge of attempted murder, according to his arrest warrant...

And the warrant described Alissa as being armed with either an assault rifle or "black AR-15" and wearing a "tactical" or "armored" vest.

Right now, his motives behind the attack are unknown...

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But the one thing that we do know is that Alissa surrendered to police in the aftermath of his killing spree as a King Scoopers worker overheard the full interaction.

Maggie Montoya, twenty-five, spoke to CPR News and explained how she works for the pharmacy in King Scoopers.

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She was helping out with COVID-19 vaccinations when she heard the first shots at around 2.30 pm.

She said that 1 person waiting in the pharmacy line was struck by gunfire.

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"I just heard our store manager yell, 'Active shooter,' and we all scattered."

Montoya said she sought safety with a coworker inside a small room attached to the pharmacy...

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And for the next thirty minutes or so, she heard sporadic bursts of gunfire throughout the store until around 3 pm, when a police officer spoke over the loudspeaker.

"This is the Boulder Police Department. The entire building is surrounded. I need you to surrender now," the officer reportedly said.

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That's when Alissa, who appeared to be standing just outside the pharmacy which is in the front of the supermarket, shouted back that he surrenders:

"I surrender, I'm naked."

Rest in Peace to all of the victims of this terrible tragedy.

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This is a developing story and updates will be posted accordingly.

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